viscerotome

vis·cer·o·tome

(vis'ĕr-ō-tōm), An instrument by means of which a section of an organ, for example, the liver, can be removed from a cadaver for examination without performing a general autopsy. [viscero- + G. tomos, cutting]

viscerotome

An obsolete instrument formerly used to obtain tissue samples without performing a “full” autopsy during a postmortem examination; in practice, such an examination is designated as a “biopsy only” autopsy.

viscerotome

(vĭs′ĕr-ō-tōm) [″ + Gr. tome, incision] The part of an abdominal organ that is supplied with afferent nerves from a single posterior root.