— photocoagulative /foh'toh koh ag"yeuh lay'tiv, -leuh tiv/ , adj.
/foh'toh koh ag'yeuh lay"sheuhn/ , n.
a surgical technique using an intense beam of light from a laser or a xenon-arc bulb to seal blood vessels or coagulate tissue, used primarily in ophthalmology to repair detached retinas or to treat certain kinds of retinopathy.
[ 1960-65; PHOTO- + COAGULATION ]