G L O S S A R Y   O F   T E R M S

For information contact:
Joni Morford, Communicore
714/721-8081
jmorford@communicore.com


* Active electrode: Electrosurgical tool that directs electrical current to the surgical 
site to achieve the desired surgical effect.  The energy is then diffused and captured 
by the return electrode.  The active electrode can be in the form of simple probes, 
cutting blades, clamps, or scissors.

* Active Electrode Monitoring (AEM): Technique used to detect stray energy by 
monitoring currents in a conductive shield integrated into the electrode.  Stray 
energy generally occurs due to breaks in insulation or to capacitive coupling.

* Bipolar electrosurgery: Electrosurgery technique in which current flows between 
two electrode poles mounted on a single instrument without entering any other 
part of the patient's body.  With both electrode poles in contact with the target 
tissue, a surgical effect (usually desiccation) is created when current passes from one 
electrode pole to the other, thus completing the circuit.

* Capacitive coupling: Creation of electrical currents in an instrument or in tissues 
surrounding an insulated electrode due to variations in the electrode's electrical 
field as the electrode's voltage changes.  Capacitive coupling is reduced by increasing 
the thickness of the electrode's insulating layer.

* Coagulation: Stopping bleeding by heating tissue; usually accomplished with 
electrosurgical energy.

* Current: Flow of electricity through a conductor.

* Desiccation: Stopping the blood flow from a discrete bleeding vessel by heating 
tissue with direct contact of an electrosurgical electrode.

* Electrosurgery: Cutting and coagulation of tissue with high-voltage radio 
frequency current conducted to the surgical site by active electrodes (either 
monopolar or bipolar).

* Electrosurgical unit: The instrument that generates and controls the electrical 
power used in electrosurgery; includes a generator, as well as foot- and/or hand-
control devices.

* Fulguration: Stopping diffuse blood flow over a large area by using an arc of 
electrical sparks which are transferred through the air from the electrode to the 
tissue.  Incorporates intermittent bursts of high-voltage electricity.

* Generator: Instrument that produces radio frequency waves and current (see 
electrosurgical unit).

* Hemostasis: Stopping blood flow, frequently achieved through the use of 
electrosurgery.

* Insulation failure: Damage to the insulation barrier, allowing the current to flow 
outside the planned electrical pathway.

* Laparoscope: Optical instrument used to view the peritoneal cavity through a 
small incision in the abdominal wall.

* Minimally invasive surgery (MIS): Surgery that does not require the generally 
large incisions of traditional surgery.

* Monopolar electrosurgery: Electrosurgery in which current flows to the surgical 
site by a single active electrode and is returned to the electrosurgical unit by a 
remote return electrode.

* Return electrode: A large pad attached to the patient's skin through which 
electrical energy is returned to the electrosurgical unit.

* Trocar cannula: A tube that is inserted through a patient's abdominal wall, 
through which the laparoscope and other surgical instruments are inserted.

* Voltage: The electrical "pressure" that drives electrical current through a 
conductor; akin to water pressure in a pipe.


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