exsanguinate

present singular third person exsanguinates · participle present exsanguinating · participle past exsanguinated · past exsanguinated

1. transitiveTo drain (a living or dead body, or (medicine, surgery) a body part) of blood.

   The substance of the brain was not congested but, on the contrary, exsanguinated.

   1873, John A. Lidell, “On the So-called Congestive and Serous Forms of Apoplexy—Their Clinical History and Post-mortem Lesions”, in A Treatise on Apoplexy, Cerebral Hemorrhage, Cerebral Embolism, Cerebral Gout, Cerebral Rheumatism, and Epidemic Cerebro-spinal Meningitis, New York, N.Y.: W[illia]m Wood & Co., […], →OCLC, page 96

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   At the battle of Ball's Bluff, I saw a soldier having a shot flesh-wound of the left arm, who was much weakened and exsanguinated from a venous hemorrhage that was caused by applying an improvised tourniquet above the wound (it was done by a comrade), and was readily stopped on removing the cause.

   1883, John A. Lidell, “Injuries of Bloodvessels”, in John Ashhurst, editor, The International Encyclopædia of Surgery: A Systematic Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Surgery by Authors of Various Nations […], volume III, New York, N.Y.: William Wood & Company, →OCLC, page 49

   Dr. [J. Leonard] Corning first exsanguinates the part to be anæsthetized with an Esmarch bandage. He next applies a tourniquet above the bandage and the latter is removed.

   1886 November 13, “The Painless Production of Local Anæsthesia”, in Thomas A[lmond] Ashby, editor, Maryland Medical Journal: A Weekly Journal of Medicine and Surgery, Baltimore, Md.: Journal Publishing Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 46, column 2

   A careful dissection, however, after exsanguinating the limb, suffices to prevent serious mischief, and even in the cases where the attending vein has been injured, necessitating its ligature or extirpation (eleven cases), no gangrene followed.

   1895, William Rose, “General Surgery”, in The Year-book of Treatment for 1895: A Critical Review for Practitioners of Medicine and Surgery, volume XVI, number 3 (number 295 overall), London: Cassell and Company, […], →OCLC, page 237

   [O]ne of the inherent problems in the old rotating drum-type kidney was that you could rather easily exsanguinate the patient into the^([sic – meaning a?]) sausage casing in a matter of a few minutes unless you were Johnny on the spot, watching until the blood got back into the patient. I think an inherent design advantage would be one in which the machine could not contain an excess of blood and you couldn't physically exsanguinate the patient.

   1965, William P[arry] Murphy, Jr., “Session III: Bath Fluid and Fluid Circulation”, in N. Thomas Connally, Jr., editor, Proceedings of the Conference on Hemodialysis: November 9–10, 1964: National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland (Public Health Service Publication; no. 1349), Bethesda, Md.: National Institutes of Health, →OCLC, page 148

   [']Each incident has been very different. In one case we had a family of five killed in a caravan at Warlingham, and four out of five of them were exsanguinated. But in another case, in Streatham, seven were killed at a Boy Scout get-together but only two were exsanguinated.' / 'Those victims who weren't exsanguinated,' I asked her. 'Did they have anything in common?[']

   2006, Graham Masterton, “Black Trap”, in Descendant, Sutton, London: Severn House Publishers, →ISBN

   Synonyms: bleed white

2. transitiveTo kill (a person or animal) by means of blood loss.

   And I do have to admit that once the episode revealed that the girls killed their dads because of a chromosomal predisposition, I made a note to have my daughter tested for that "exsanguinate your father" gene!

   1997, Phil Farrand, “First Season [Eve]”, in The Nitpicker’s Guide for X-philes, New York, N.Y.: Dell Publishing, →ISBN

   Synonyms: bleed out

3. intransitiveTo bleed profusely; also, to die by means of blood loss.

   He won't tolerate not doing a resection. Now let's get this stomach out and get out of here before he exsanguinates on the table!

   1994, Harry Lee Kraus, Jr., chapter 12, in Stainless Steel Hearts, Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, →ISBN, page 165

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   Universal precautions may not always be instituted in emergencies, as the nurse may find herself with no time to put on a pair of gloves or put on a gown and mask. A few examples of emergency cases are: patients that start to exsanguinate, vomiting blood in a projectile manner all over the room, […]

   1989 December 19, Ellen Redick, “Testimony of the American Association of Critical-care Nurses on Blood-borne Pathogens before the Occupational Safety and Health Administration”, in Oversight Hearings on OSHA’s Proposed Standard to Protect Health Care Workers against Blood-borne Pathogens including the AIDS and Hepatitis B Viruses: Hearings before the Subcommittee on Health and Safety of the Committee on Education and Labor, House of Representatives, One Hundred First Congress, Second Session […] (Serial No. 101-84), volume 2, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, published 1990, →OCLC, page 990

   Synonyms: bleed out

4. intransitiveTo cause blood to drain from a body or body part, or profuse bleeding.

   A mild galvanic current stimulates functional activity, promotes absorption; a stronger current contracts and exsanguinates.

   1886, George J[ulius] Engelmann, “The Use of Electricity in Gynecological Practice”, in Transactions of the American Gynecological Society, volume 11, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, […], published 1887, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 234

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   If sterile blood [from a rat] is required an alternative method is to exsanguinate under terminal anaesthesia by withdrawing blood from the heart with a sterile syringe and needle.

   1971, W. H. Kingham, “Techniques for Handling Animals”, in J. R. Norris, D. W. Ribbons, editors, Methods in Microbiology, volume 5A, London; Orlando, Fla.: Academic Press, →ISBN, page 294

   Ulcerative colitis is highly variable in its clinical manifestations. […] [B]leeding may be profuse, virtually exsanguinating and continuous, responding only to total colectomy, and the diarrhea may be voluminous, watery and lead rapidly to volume depletion and shock.

   1976, Norton J. Greenberger, Daniel H. Winship, “Colon”, in Gastrointestinal Disorders: A Pathophysiologic Approach, Chicago, Ill.: Year Book Medical Publishers, →ISBN, page 193, column 2