Webster's New World Medical Dictionary

gallstone, microscopic
See 
biliary sand.
gamete
Germ cell.
gamete intrafallopian transfer
An assisted
reproductive procedure for the treatment of infertil-
ity in which a woman’s eggs are removed, mixed
with sperm, and placed into the fallopian tube via a
laparoscopic procedure. Abbreviated GIFT. GIFT
allows the fertilization process to take place inside
the fallopian tubes rather than inside the laboratory.
GIFT involves stimulation of the ovaries to produce
multiple eggs, aspiration of the eggs, mixing with
mobile sperm, and injection of the egg-sperm mix-
ture into the fallopian tube.
gamma knife
A tool that uses highly focused
beams of gamma radiation to perform neurosurgery
without making an incision. A gamma knife is used
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to treat many types of brain tumors as well as arte-
riovenous malformations and other conditions of
the brain. See also 
radiation therapy, stereotactic.
ganglion 1
An aggregation of nerve cell bodies.
2
A tendon cyst, commonly near the wrist.
gangliosidosis, GM1
See 
GM1-gangliosidosis.
gangliosidosis, GM2
See 
Sandhoff disease.
gangrene
Tissue death due to loss of adequate
blood supply. Sometimes bacteria invade such tissue
and accelerate its decay. Dry gangrene is the death
of tissue due to vascular insufficiency without bacte-
rial invasion in which the tissue dies, loses sensation
and simply dries up, blackens, and shrivels. Dry
gangrene eventually requires amputation. Gas gan-
grene occurs when body tissue is invaded by bacte-
ria that thrive in areas of low oxygen content. These
bacteria are called anaerobic bacteria and include
the Clostridium family of bacteria. The bacteria gen-
erate gas and pus; the tissues swells and can
become painful. Wet gangrene requires urgent
antibiotic treatment and sometimes surgical
drainage.