bypass -
noun Also written by-pass (Health and Fitness) A permanent alternative pathway for a blood vessel, artery, etc. (especially near the heart or
brain ), created by transplanting a vessel from
elsewhere in the body or inserting an artificial
one . Also, the operation by which this is achieved or the artificial device that is inserted. Etymology: A figurative use of the word
bypass, which was regularly used in the sixties and seventies for an alternative road built to route traffic round a bottleneck such as a large town; the medical
bypass, too, is often created to avoid an obstruction or constriction in the existing network. History and Usage: The art of
bypass surgery was developed during the sixties and seventies and was becoming routine by the eighties. By an interesting reversal of
linguistic roles, new roads were often called arterials rather
than bypasses in the eighties, and the
medical sense of
bypass showed signs of becoming the dominant meaning of the word. It
is often used attributively, in
bypass operation,
bypass surgery, etc. Sir Robin Day was yesterday 'progressing
very nicely' after
his heart by-pass operation in a London hospital. News of the World 3 Mar. 1985, p.
2 The findings may have far-reaching implications...offering patients a low-risk alternative to cholesterol-lowering drugs,
bypass operations
and angioplasty, a technique in which clogged arteries are opened with a tiny balloon that presses
plaque against the artery walls. New York Times 14 Nov. 1989, section C, p. 1
