operameter 
operameter (<>p-<;-rani'<!-tT), . [< I... 
work, + (ir. iiiT/iur, :i nu>usiirr.] AM instrument 
for iinlii-;il in;; 1 lie iiuiiiIxT of movements made 
by a ]i!irt of ;i mnrhinr, as the turns made by 
it shiii't, llic oscillations of it working-beam, the 
delivery CM' slice-is from a printing-press, or the 
reciprocations of a cross-head, etc., in a stated 
interval of time. Thu principles of construction are 
various. A common form has a ratchet-wheel conn- < h I 
willl rrirUtrnnu' iliiits, ami ui oM-illatillK lever which by 
suitable mechanism is miule to take up a single ratchet- 
toutli at each to-and fro movement of a reciprocating <>r 
oscillating part, such as the cross-head of a steam-engine. 
Another form has a spear-pointed spindle which in MM 
nected with a registering mechanism, the whole imple- 
ment being held in the right hand, ami the point of the 
spindle being pressed into the center at the end of the 
shaft whose revolutions are desired to be counted. Also 
called counter, speed-indicator, and revolution indicator. 
See arithmometer. 
operance (op'e-rans), n. [< operan(t) + -ce.] 
The act of Operating; operation. [Rare.] 
The elements, 
That know not what or why, yet do effect 
Rare issues by their operance. 
Fletcher (and another), Two Noble Kinsmen, i. 3. 
operancy (op'p-ran-si), n. [As operance (see 
-<//).] Same as ojicrance. 
A131 
Operating-table. 
a, frame ; A, base ; c, upright support for lever d: e, link by which 
\ for the thighs is connected with the lever rf; h. sector 
r or holding the lever d in adjustment j /, adjustable body- 
support, with adjustable back-support *; I. M, n, a, adjustments lor 
support I 
i pins for 
operant (op'e-raut), a. and n. [= F. opfninl 
= Sp. Pg. it.'ojii mull , < L. operan(t-)s. ppr. of 
operuri, work: see operate.] I. o. Working; 
engaged in action ; active ; operative ; effective. 
My operant powers their functions leave to do. 
Shak., Hamlet, iii. 2. 184. 
II, n. One who operates ; an operator or op- 
erative; a worker or workman. [Rare.] 
No fractious opera nts ever turned out for half the tyran- 
ny which this necessity [manufacturing jokes] exercised 
upon us. I.,: mi: Newspapers Thirty-five Years Ago. 
opera-singer (op'e-ra-sing'er), n. A profes- 
sional singer who 'takes part in operas, 
operate (op'e-rat), v.; pret. and pp. operated, 
effect, < opus (oner-), neut., opera, {., work: see 
opera, opus.'] I. intraus. 1. To perform or be 
at work; exert force or influence; act: with 
OH or upon governing the object of the action: 
as, the sculptor operates on the clay or marble 
of which he makes his figures; a machine oper- 
ates on the raw materials submitted to it. 
The fear of resistance and the sense of shame operate, in 
a certain degree, on the most absolute kings and the most 
illiberal oligarchies. Mamulay, Mill on Government. 
2. Specifically, in surg., to perform some man- 
ual act upon the body of the patient, usually 
with instruments, with a view to restore sound- 
ness or health, or otherwise to improve the 
physical condition. 3. To produce an effect; 
act; work: used absolutely. 
It is the certainty, and not the severity, of punishment 
which operate! against the commission or repetition of 
crime. Sir T. More, Utopia (tr. by Robinson), I., note. 
Words, words, mere words, no matter from the heart ; 
The effect doth operate another way. 
Shale., T. and C., v. 3. 110. 
Where causes operate freely. Watte. 
The affair operated as the signal for insurrection. 
Pretcott, Ford, and Isa., ii. 6. 
[The application of this word to the working of machin- 
ery, in such phrases as ' ' the engine began to operate, " is re- 
garded as inelegant, and such a use of it is rare in England. J 
4. To produce the desired or appropriate ef- 
fect; act effectively; be effectual in producing 
the result intended : as, the medicine operated 
well. 5. To carry on speculative transactions; 
buy and sell speculatively: with in: as, to op- 
era tr in stocks; to operate in oil. [Commercial 
cant . ] = Syn. 3 and 4. Act, Work, etc. See act. 
II. triiim. 1. To effect ; produce by action or 
the exertion of force or energy; accomplish as 
an agent; cause. 
It (Goethe's "Helena"! operate* a wonderful relief to the 
mind from the routine of customary images. 
Kmenon, History. 
2. To direct or superintend the working of; 
cause to move or perform the acts desired; 
work : as, to operate a machine. 
operatic (op-o-rat'ik), a. [< opera + -ae 2 .] 
Pertaining to, appropriate to, designed for, or 
resembling opera : as, an operatic air. 
operatical (op-e-rat'i-kal), <(. [< operatic + -al.] 
Operatic'. 
operatically (op-p-rat'i-kal-i), adr. In an op- 
eratic manner; as regards the opera. 
operating-table (op'e-rat-ing-ta* bl), . The ta- 
ble on which the patient rests during a surgical 
Operation. There are many forms and constructions of 
tlu-si- table:*, tin' ueompuylng cut illustrating a pariii -M. 
larly complicated form made adjustable to place the 
patient in convenient positions for various operations. 
, . , , , 
back -support k ; f.g, I, adjustments for body -support J ; f, support for 
calves, held MI adjustment by the ratchet-box y. 
Ordinarily a simple firm table of the requisite height and 
length and about two feet wide is used, covered with 
Manki-tB or a thin mattress. 
operation (op-e-ra'shon), n. [< ME. operation, 
<>/>< ritfion, < OF. operation, P. operation = Pr. 
operacio = Sp. operacion = Pg. operacdo = It. 
operazione, < L. operatio(n-), < operari, work, 
operate: see operate.] 1. Action; working; 
agency; exertion of power or influence; spe- 
cifically, in pgychol., the exertion of any mental 
power, especially an active power. 
Such Sen lain it x as be of to muche speeche are yll of oper- 
ation, Babets Book < I ;. E. T. S.X p. 84. 
This latter they call Energia of ergon, because it wrought 
with a strong and virtuous operation. 
Pvttenham, Arte of Eng. Poesie, p. 110. 
Freedom of operation we have by nature, but the ability 
of virtuous operation by grace. 
Hooker, Eccles. Polity, v., App. 1. 
Your serpent of Egypt is bred now of your mud by the 
operation of your sun : so is your crocodile. 
Shale., A. and C., 11. 7. 30. 
2. A specific act or activity. 
There are diversities of operations, but it is the same 
God which worketh all In all. 1 Cor. xli. . 
In the romance called The Knight of the Swan, It is said 
of Vdain duchess Roulyon that she caused her three sons 
to be brought up In "all mailer of good operaeyont, ver- 
tues, and maners." Strutt, Sports and Pastimes, p. 8. 
Attention, though closely related to the active side of 
the mind and illustrating the laws of volition, is a general 
condition of our mental operations. 
J. Sully, Outlines of Psychol., p. 73. 
3. The course of action or series of acts by 
which some result is accomplished; process. 
(a)Insurg., the act or series of acts and manipulations per- 
formed upon a patient's body, as in setting a bone, ampu- 
tating a limb, extracting a tooth, etc. 
While Gersdorff. of strasaburg, probably had used the 
ligature in amputation wounds for some years. It re- 
mained for the genius of Par6 to give to amputations a 
comparatively firm position among surgical operatiant. 
Buck's Handbook <\f Med, Sciences, I. 142. 
(6) In math., the substitution of one quantity for another, 
or the act of passing from one to the other, the second 
quantity being definitely related to the first, either In 
value or In form. An operation must not be confound- 
ed with the proceia by which the operation is effected. 
Thus, there is but one operation of extracting the cube 
root of a number, but there are several different pro- 
cesses, (c) In war, the act of carrying out preconcerted 
measures by regular movements: as, military or naval 
operations. 
4. The state of being at work ; active exercise 
of some specific function or office ; systematic 
action: as, the machine is in operation. 5. 
Method of working; action. 6. Power exer- 
cised in producing an effect ; peculiar efficacy 
of action ; characteristic property or virtue. 
Harde chese hath these opcracyoiu: it wyll kepe ye sto- 
macke open ; butter la holsome fyrst & last, for it wyll do 
awaye all poysons. Babees Book (E. E. T. 8.), p. 260. 
A good sherris-sack hath a two-fold operation In It 
Shak., 2 Hen. IV., Iv. 8. 104. 
Something that hath the operation to 
Make death look lovely. 
Masrinyer, Renegado, v. 6. 
Not only the fabrication and false making of the whole 
of a written instrument, but a fraudulent insertion, alter- 
ation, or erasure, even of a letter, in any material part of 
a true instrument whereby a new operation is given to it, 
will amount U, forgery and this though it be afterwards 
executed by another person ignorant of the deceit. 
RutxtU, Crimes and Misdemeanours, II. 619, quoted In 
[Encyc. Brit., IX. 413. 
7t. Impulse ; tendency to act. 
There are in men operation! natural, rational, supernat- 
ural, some politick, some finally ecclesiastical. 
Hooker, Eccles. Polity. 
I have operations which be humours of revenge. 
Shak., M. W. of W., 1. s. 98. 
Act and operation of law. See la id. Adams's op- 
eration, (a) An operation for ankylosis of the hip, ra- 
operation 
volving subcutaneous s<rtim of the neck of the femur 
hyaline saw. (ft) An operation for I>u|/u.\tnn contrac- 
tion, consisting in the subcutaneous division of the con- 
tracted bands of the palmar fascia. Alexander's opera- 
tion, Alexander-Adams operation, tl petition of 
shortening the lound ligaments for the MnOMOI kOM- 
ink- tin uterus in its normal position. Allarton's opera- 
tion, the modern median operation for stone in tin- l>l:i<l 
der, differing from the old, or Jfarion operation, in that 
the Incision, made exactly In the median line Is cai 1 1 <i 
further back to the apex of the prostate, and the linger is 
ordinarily used In dilating the prostate and the m-i-k of the 
bladder. Amussat's operation. (< ' "I"r- 
ati.m by a transverse Incision crossing the outer I 
of the quadratus luiuboruui. (ft) For vayinal atresia: a 
method of dilatation by the tue of the linger and dull 
instruments, rather than by cutting. Anel'8 operation 
for aneurism, an operation involving libation on the car- 
diac side, close to the aneurism. Annandale's opera- 
tion, :>n operation for dislocated cartilages of the knee- 
joint, involving the incision of the joint and stitching the 
cartilages in their proper position. Antyllus's opera- 
tion for aneurism, an operation in which ligatlon is 
practised atiove and below the aneurism, which is then 
opened and Its contents evacuated. Arlt-Jaesche's 
operation for distichiasis, dissecting the edge of the 
lid and the contained ciliary bulbs from the tarsus, re- 
moving a crescentlc-shaped piece of skin from the lid above 
the flap, uniting the edges of the wound, and in this way 
transplanting the ciliary bulbs further away from the edge 
of the lids. Ay ers's operation for extroverted blad- 
der, an operation Involving the dissection of a long flap 
from the anterior wall of the abdomen, and Its reversal BO 
that the cuticular surface will be toward the exposed mu- 
cous membrane, and the union of the loosened skin of the 
shies in such manner as to cover the raw surface of the (lap. 
Barden's operation for angular ankylosia of the 
knee, the removal of a wedge-shaped piece of bone from 
the shaft of the femur, and the fracture of the remaining 
part. Battey's operation, the removal of the ovaries 
in order to eliminate their physiological influence, as 
in dysmenorrhea, menorrhagia, neuroses and psychoses 
presenting relations with the menstrual function, and 
in other disorders. Also called spaying, normal ovariot- 
omy, and oophorectomy. Bauden's operation, ampu- 
tation at the knee-joint by the elliptical method. Be- 
clard's operation for amputation at the thigh - 
Joint, amputation by an tero posterior flaps, both flaps being 
cut from within outward before disarticulation, the poste- 
rior one first. Beer's operation, an operation for the ex- 
traction of cataract by the flap method. Billroth's O8- 
teoplastlc operation, an operation fortheexcisionofthe 
tongue, by which the soft parts and lower jaw are divided 
In two places at the side of the jaw, and replaced after the 
tongue nas been removed. Boutonniere operation, (a) 
For impermeable stricture: external perineal urethroto- 
iiiv by division through an opening made In the urethra 
just beyond the stricture, (b) The extraction of a nasal 
polypus by the aid of an incision made in the middle line of 
the soft palate. Bowman's operation, an operation for 
stricture of thelacrymal duct. Brainard's operation 
for angular ankylosis of the knee, the fracture of the 
shaft of the femur, after it has been drilled subeutaneous- 
ly. Brasdor's operation for aneurism, ligatlon Imme- 
diately below the aneurism. Buchanan's operation, 
(a) For restoration of the lower lip: the elevation of an 
oblique flap from each side of the chin, and the union 
of the two flaps in the middle, allowing the places whence 
they come to heal by granulation. ('<) A medio-lateral 
operation of lithotomy, with an angular statf. Buck's 
chiloplastic operation, an operation for supplying a 
deficiency in either lip by transplanting a portion of the 
other. Burckhardts operation, the opening of a re- 
tropharyngeal abscess from the outside of the neck. 
Burow's operation, a plastic operation for the covering 
of a raw surface after the removal of a tumor or other 
morbid growth. It consists essentially in the removal of 
the Integument from two equal triangles situated on op- 
posite sides and extremities of a straight basal incision, 
dissecting up the obtnse angled flaps thus formed, and 
pulling them so as to close the triangles. Burwell's 
operation, the llgation of the carotid and subclavfan 
arteries for aneurism of the innominate artery or of the 
first part of the aorta. Csesarean operation. See 
afsarean section, under Casarean. Calculus Of opera- 
tions. See calculus. Calignani'8 operation, resec- 
tion of the inferior dental nerve through an incision made 
between the lobe of the ear and the angle of the jaw. 
Callisen's operation, lumbar colotomy by a vertical 
Incision. Capital operation, in surg.. an operation in- 
volving some danger to life. Also called major operation. 
Garden's operation, a combination of the circular 
and flap operations, in amputations, by first reflecting a 
rounded or circular flap of skin to serve as a cover or bon- 
net to the flat-faced stump then formed. In amputation 
at the knee, by this operation, the rounded flap is formed 
in front, and the femur is sawed at the base of the con- 
ilyli-s. -- Carpue's rhinoplastic operation, an operation 
for repairing the nose by taking a peart-shaped flap from 
the forehead. See Dieffenbach's rhinvplastic operation and 
Indian rhinoplastic operation. Chamberlaine's opera- 
tion forligation of the brachial artery, an operation 
involving incision along the lower margin of the clavicle, 
with a second over the deltoid and pectoral muscles meet- 
ing the first nearly in the middle. Chassaignac's op- 
eration for amputation of the finger, amputation of 
the finger with a single dorsal or palmar flap Chassaig- 
nac's operation for excision of the tongue, excision 
of the tongue with the craseur. by the suprahyoid method. 
Chopart's operation, amputation through the calca- 
neo-cnbold and astragalo-scaphoid articulations; medio- 
tarsal operation. Civiale's operation, a medio-bilater- 
al operation of lithotomy. Cock's operation for stric- 
ture, incision into the urethra behind the stricture, with- 
out a guide, leaving the stricture undivided. Comple- 
mentary, direct, distributive operation, see the ad- 
jectives. Cooper's operation for ligation of the ab- 
dominal aorta, an operation by an incision in the linea 
alba, above and below and to the side of the umbilicus 
Cooper's operation for ligation of the external iliac 
artery an operation by a semilunar incision, with con- 
vexity downward, from above the inner margin of the ex- 
ternal abdominal ring to near the anterior superior spine 
