Definition of Surgeon

Surgeon: A physician who treats disease, injury, or deformity by operative or manual methods. A medical doctor specialized in the removal of organs, masses and tumors and in doing other procedures using a knife (scalpel). The definition of a "surgeon" has begun to blur in recent years as surgeons have begun to minimize the cutting, employ new technologies that are "minimally invasive," use scopes, etc.

In England, a surgeon was once a practitioner without a degree of M.D. but with the license of the Royal College of Surgeons.

The word "surgeon" is descended from the Greek word "cheirourgia" meaning "working with the hands, the practice of a handcraft."

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