Abstract
The destructive effect of cold on living tissues has been known for centuries. One of the earliest therapeutic applications of cold involved its anesthetic properties. Napoleon's surgeons amputated limbs painlessly on soldiers who had lain in the snow for some time. Researchers have long explored the potential therapeutic usefulness of cooling or freezing parts of the body to produce controlled physiologic inhibition, anatomic destruction, or anesthesia. | Cryogeny is the science of producing and using extreme cold. The prefix CRYO-derives from the Greek KRYMOS (icy cold). Cryosurgery, or the clinical use of freezing procedures, is distinct from the cold applications used to reduce fever or swelling and to alleviate pain. It also differs from the moderate reduction in temperature effected by hypothermia or refrigeration of the body or a limb for therapeutic or surgical procedures.