retractor

retractor is defined in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913) with 1 sense. The full text of each entry is reproduced verbatim below.

Definitions

  1. 1.One who, or that which, retracts. Specifically: (a) In breech-loading firearms, a device for withdrawing a cartridge shell from the barrel. (b) (Surg.) An instrument for holding apart the edges of a wound during amputation. (c) (Surg.) A bandage to protect the soft parts from injury by the saw during amputation. (d) (Anat. & Zoöl.) A muscle serving to draw in any organ or part. See Illust. under Phylactolæmata.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

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