Lobotomy
/ləˈbɒt.ə.mi/noun
A surgical operation that severs connections in the brain’s prefrontal region, historically used to treat certain psychiatric conditions.
Did you know?Portuguese neurologist Egas Moniz introduced the prefrontal leucotomy in 1935 and received the 1949 Nobel Prize, despite the procedure’s severe and often irreversible consequences.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*temh₁-
“To cut or cleave”
Ancient Greek
Greek
tomḗ
“A cutting or incision”
Ancient Greek
Greek
lóbos
“A rounded projection or lobe”
19th Century
New Latin
lobus
“A lobe, especially an anatomical division”
1930s
Portuguese
lobotomia
“Surgical cutting of a brain lobe; formed from Greek lobos and tomē”
1936
English
lobotomy
“A prefrontal brain operation, popularized in English medical usage”