Brephotomy
Historical document, translated for reference. It reflects medical knowledge of the 1920s–30s and is not medical advice.
Summary
Brephotomy is an obsolete collective term for obstetric operations aimed at reducing the volume of the fetus to facilitate delivery, such as craniotomy, cephalotripsy, and decapitation. It encompasses various destructive procedures traditionally used in obstructed labor.
Encyclopedia entry (1928–1936)
BREPHOTOMY (from Greek brephos — fetus, and tome — cutting), a term designating a series of obstetric operations aimed at reducing the volume of the fetus, such as, for example, perforation of the head (perforatio), cephalotripsy (cephalotripsia), cranioclasis (cranioklasia), evacuation of the abdominal cavity (embryulcia), decapitation (decapitatio), and section of the spinal column (spondylotomia). See Obstetric operations.
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Cite this page
“Brephotomy.” Soviet Medical Encyclopedia. English translation of Bolshaya Meditsinskaya Entsiklopediya, 1st ed. (Moscow, 1928–1936), ed. N. A. Semashko. https://sovietmedicalencyclopedia.pages.dev/article/brephotomy/