catheter
Sign in to saveIn medicine, a catheter ( ) is a thin tube made from medical grade materials serving a broad range of functions. Catheters are medical devices that can be inserted in the body to treat diseases or perform a surgical procedure. Catheters are manufactured for specific applications, such as cardiovascular, urological, gastrointestinal, neurovascular and ophthalmic procedures. The process of inserting a catheter is called catheterization.
Key facts
- Medical equipment.name
- Catheter
- Medical equipment.image
- Catheter dissasembled.jpg
- Medical equipment.caption
- Catheter disassembled
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
16 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Uses
- History
- Ancient inventors
- Modern
- Materials
- Urinary catheters
- Catheters used in interventional procedures
- Interventional procedures
- Diagnostic catheters
- Balloon catheters
- Dialysis catheters
- Adverse effects
- See also
- References
- External links
In medicine, a catheter ( ) is a thin tube made from medical grade materials serving a broad range of functions. Catheters are medical devices that can be inserted in the body to treat diseases or perform a surgical procedure. Catheters are manufactured for specific applications, such as cardiovascular, urological, gastrointestinal, neurovascular and ophthalmic procedures. The process of inserting a catheter is called catheterization.
In most uses, a catheter is a thin, flexible tube (soft catheter) though catheters are available in varying levels of stiffness depending on the application. A catheter left inside the body, either temporarily or permanently, may be referred to as an "indwelling catheter" (for example, a peripherally inserted central catheter). A permanently inserted catheter may be referred to as a "permcath" (originally a trademark).