Definition of "lithotrity" [li•thot•ri•ty]

• A surgical procedure to pulverize stones in the urinary bladder or urethra so that they can be passed out of the body in the urine. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "It is like strabismus, chloroform, lithotrity, a heap of monstrosities that the Government ought to prohibit."
• "Dieu_ hospital in Paris, his attention is said to have been attracted to the subject of his future discovery; and, after many years of perseverance, he succeeded in perfecting and introducing to the profession his new operation of lithotrity."
• "Nor must we forget to hint at the discoveries which have given new effect to surgical skill -- the discovery of anaesthetics, the perfection of artificial limbs, the repair of the body, and the valuable method of lithotrity; while even the match need not be disdained as one of the chief inventions of the century."