mindmap root((NECRO)) necrosis Death of living tissue, usually within a limited area.
🌱He had ignored the spider bite for several days, and his doctor was alarmed to see that serious necrosis had set in. 🌳Cells die naturally after a period of time, but may also die as a result of injuries, infections, or cancer. Burns produce necrosis, and the bedsores suffered by nursing-home patients are a form of necrosis. The dreaded condition known as gangrene, in which the dying tissue turns black or green, is another form. When untreated, the dying cells release substances that lead to the death of surrounding cells, so untreated necrosis can lead to death. Treatment usually requires the removal of the necrotic tissue, and in severe cases can even involve amputating a limb. necromancer One who conjures the spirits of the dead in order to magically reveal the future or influence the course of events.
🌱Her specialty is communication with the dead, and she might once have been known as a necromancer, but her sign says simply "Psychic." 🌳The practice of necromancy goes back as far as the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians and has continued through all the centuries since. In the Middle Ages it became associated with black magic; condemned by the church, it had to be practiced secretly. In Europe a necromancer might work in a remote graveyard at night, standing within a magical circle he had drawn to shield himself from the anger of the spirits. The grave of a person who had died suddenly or violently might be plundered for its body parts; the unused energy these were believed to contain made them valuable in the necromantic ceremony. But body parts aren't essential to necromancy, which is now practiced by channelers, mediums, and shamans, and even by groups of amateurs sitting around a Ouija board. necropolis A cemetery, especially a large, elaborate cemetery of an ancient city.
🌱On Sundays the downtown is like a necropolis, and he was always slightly disturbed by the complete absence of life among all those buildings. 🌳With its -polis ending, meaning "city" （See POLIS/POLIT,） a necropolis is a "city of the dead." Most of the famous necropolises of Egypt line the Nile River across from their cities. In ancient Greece and Rome, a necropolis would often line the road leading out of a city; in the 1940s a great Roman necropolis was discovered under the Vatican's St. Peter's Basilica. Some more recent cemeteries especially deserve the name necropolis because they resemble cities of aboveground tombs, a necessity in low-lying areas such as New Orleans where a high water table prevents underground burial. necropsy An autopsy, especially one performed on an animal.
🌱Daisy's sudden death was so mysterious that we paid for a necropsy, and it turned out she'd been a victim of lethal chemicals in our imported dog food. 🌳Human autopsies are generally performed either to determine the cause of death or to observe the deadly effects of a disease for research or education purposes. Autopsies may be necessary when tracking an epidemic; they're also performed to discover whether a death might actually have resulted from murder, and if so, what evidence it might reveal that could help catch the murderer. Animal necropsies are actually more common than human autopsies, since a farmer with livestock is always concerned that whatever killed one animal not pose a threat to the others.