hemostat

Definitions

Greek haima (blood) + statos ('making stand, halting') = a device that 'makes blood stand still.' The -stat element comes from the Greek sta- root, cousin of Latin stāre, and shows up in thermostat (heat held steady) and rheostat (current held steady).

Why It Means This

Greek branch of the stand root. The suffix -stat always means 'something that holds a quantity steady': a thermostat holds temperature, a hemostat holds back blood.

Example Sentences

• 1.

  The surgeon clamped the artery with a hemostat to control the bleeding.