rhizoverbBeta
DictionarygangreneTissue death
noun / verb

gangrene

GANG-green/ˈɡæŋɡriːn/

Death and decay of body tissue from loss of blood supply or infection.

Severely reduced blood flow puts the foot at risk of gangrene.

A restrained clinical view of an older man's bare foot resting on an examination cushion, with one sharply demarcated, dry, blackened toe indicating tissue death.
Etymology
gangreneGreekeating or gnawing sore

The Greek word pictured a sore as something that “eats away.” That image describes the destructive decay of tissue in gangrene.

In context

Cipher Cases2:30
By the time he reached a doctor, [music] gangrene had already set in. Surgeons had no choice but to amputate the [music] arm to save his life.
What the Museum Won't Explain: The Cursed Relic of the Unlucky Mummy

More examples

  • Doctors remove the dead tissue to keep gangrene from spreading.
  • Without treatment, the injured tissue may gangrene.
  • The patient needs urgent treatment for gangrene in two toes.

Forms

gangrene · gangrenes · gangrened · gangrening

gangrenous adjective — Affected by tissue death and decay.

Similar words

necrosis
Necrosis means tissue death generally, without necessarily involving decay.
putrefaction
Putrefaction emphasizes decay and can affect any dead organic matter.