Definition

Verb: * To insert a catheter (a thin, flexible tube) into a body cavity, duct, or vessel to allow drainage, injection of fluids, or access for surgical instruments. The most common usage refers to inserting a catheter into the urinary bladder to drain urine.

Usage

This is a technical medical term used primarily by healthcare professionals. It describes a specific clinical procedure. * The verb is often used in the passive voice when referring to the patient. * The direct object is typically the body part or the patient.

Examples

• "The nurse will need to catheterise the patient before the surgery."
• "Patients who cannot urinate may be catheterised to relieve discomfort."
• "The protocol is to catheterise the bladder using sterile technique."

Advanced Usage

• "To be catheterised": This passive construction is very common in clinical settings to describe the state of the patient.
  • The unconscious accident victim was immediately catheterised upon arrival at the emergency department.

Variants and Related Words

• Catheterization (noun): The act or process of inserting a catheter.
  • Urinary catheterization is a common hospital procedure.
• Catheter (noun): The tube itself.
  • A Foley catheter is often used for long-term drainage.
• Catheterize: The standard American English spelling of the verb. "Catheterise" is the standard British English spelling.

Synonyms

• Cannulate: To insert a cannula (a type of short, stiff tube), often into a blood vessel. While similar, "cannulate" is not synonymous with "catheterise" for urinary procedures.
• Intubate: To insert a tube, most specifically into the trachea to maintain an airway. This is a different procedure.

Related Phrases

• Insert a catheter: A more descriptive phrase with the same meaning as "to catheterise."
  • The doctor needed to insert a catheter.
• Urinary catheterisation: The specific procedure of catheterising the bladder.
  • The risk of infection increases with urinary catheterisation.

Verb

1. insert a catheter into (a body part)
   • catheterize the patient's bladder