Distractor

A distractor is

• a surgical instrument or device for distraction . Distraction is the controlled expansion and permanent attachment of bones in the expansion zone. Distractors are used in trauma surgery , orthopedics and maxillofacial surgery for the extension treatment of bones. This allows the lengths of long bones or the upper and lower jaw to be achieved.

• as Germanization of engl. distractor a "distractor", for example a wrong answer alternative in a multiple choice test. A good distractor makes it appear right to someone who does not have the knowledge to be tested; for example, he takes up a common misconception. In experimental psychology , distractor stimuli are often used to investigate perceptual , attention and memory functions .

• a distracting object in visual search

This is a disambiguation page for differentiating between several terms identified with the same word.