Oophorectomy (from
Greek ᾠοφόρος,
ōophóros, "egg-bearing" + ἐκτομή,
ektomḗ, "a cutting out of") is the
surgical removal of an
ovary or ovaries. The surgery is also called
ovariectomy, but this term has been traditionally used in basic science research to describe the surgical removal of ovaries in laboratory animals. Removal of the ovaries in women is the biological equivalent of
castration in males; however, the term castration is only occasionally used in the medical literature to refer to oophorectomy in humans. In the veterinary sciences, the complete removal of the ovaries, oviducts,
uterine horns, and the uterus is called
spaying and is a form of
sterilization.