In the natural sciences, the term diathermy means "electrically-induced heat" and is commonly used for muscle relaxation. It is also a method of heating tissue electromagnetically or ultrasonically for therapeutic purposes in medicine. The term natural science as the way in which different fields of study are defined is determined as much by historical convention as by the present day meaning of the words. ...
Heating uses
Ultrasonic diathermy refers to heating of tissues by ultrasound for the purpose of therapeutic deep heating. No tissue is ordinarily damaged.
Electric diathermy uses high frequency alternating electric or magnetic fields, sometimes with no electrode or device contact to the skin, to induce gentle deep tissue heating by induction. Again, no tissue is ordinarily damaged. This is the basic principle of ultrasonics in medicine
Surgical uses
Surgical diathermy is usually better known as "electrosurgery." (It is also referred to occasionally as "electrocautery", but see disambiguation below). Electrosurgery and surgical diathermy involve the use of high frequency A.C. electrical current in surgery as either a cutting modality, or else to cauterize small blood vessels to stop bleeding. This technique induces localized tissue burning and damage, the zone of which is controlled by the frequency and power of the device. Electrosurgery is the application of a high-frequency electric current to human (or other animal) tissue as a means to remove lesions, staunch bleeding, or cut tissue. ... Hot cauters were applied to tissues or arteries to stop them from bleeding. ... Intraoperative X-Ray of a Humerus fixated by Kirschner wires Surgery (from the Greek meaning hand work) is the medical specialty that treats diseases or injuries by operative manual and instrumental treatment. ...
Some sources [1] insist that electrosurgery be applied to surgery accomplished by high frequency A.C. cutting, and that "electrocautery" be used only for the practice of cauterization with heated nichrome wires powered by D.C. current, as in the handheld battery-operated portable cautery tools. Electrosurgery is the application of a high-frequency electric current to human (or other animal) tissue as a means to remove lesions, staunch bleeding, or cut tissue. ... Hot cauters were applied to tissues or arteries to stop them from bleeding. ... Nichrome is a non-magnetic alloy of nickel and chromium. ...
Diathermy is the use of electrical current in surgery as either a cutting tool or to cauterize blood vessels to stop bleeding.
The invention of diathermy has made the work of surgeons much simpler by allowing them save time on hemostasis by burning off small arteries that would previously have had to be tied manually.
A lesser known fact about monopolar diathermy is why the current passing through the body does not induce ventricular fibrillation or other arrhythmias in the heart.
The present informal position of the Food and Drug Administration is that a diathermy device should be capable of producing heat in tissue from a minimum of 104 F to a maximum of 114 F at a depth of two inches in not more than 20 minutes.
Microwave energy is beamed from a director or applicator to the treatment area with intensity of heating controlled by the average power output of the microwave source and the spacing of the applicator from the concerned area.
Diathermy electromagnetic fields may induce currents that cause excessive heating of metal devices in the body, e.g., bone pins, implanted electrodes, dental fillings and metal sutures, producing burns in the adjacent tissues \1\.
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