declawing


on·y·chec·to·my

(on'i-kek'tŏ-mē), 1. Ablation of a toenail or fingernail. 2. veterinary medicine Surgical removal in felines of distal phalanges of all digits of forefeet, less commonly of hind feet. Procedure involves disarticulation of the P2/P3 junction and subsequent removal of entire P3 bone, at the terminus of which the claw is seated. Synonym(s): declawing [onycho- + G. ektomē, excision]