thoracentesis

Thân thiện

A doctor performs a thoracentesis on a patient in a hospital room.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A medical procedure involving the removal of fluid from the pleural cavity: Thoracentesis is a surgical puncture of the chest wall to aspirate fluid from the pleural space, typically for diagnostic analysis or therapeutic relief.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The patient underwent a thoracentesis to relieve the pressure caused by the pleural effusion.
  • Analysis of the fluid obtained during the thoracentesis confirmed the diagnosis of pneumonia.

Advanced Usage

• Therapeutic vs. Diagnostic Thoracentesis: The procedure can be performed for different primary purposes.
  • A therapeutic thoracentesis was performed to alleviate the patient's severe shortness of breath.
  • The doctor ordered a diagnostic thoracentesis to determine the cause of the unexplained pleural effusion.

Variants and Related Words

• Pleurocentesis (n): A synonym for thoracentesis.
• Thoracocentesis (n): An alternative spelling for the same procedure.
• Centesis (n): A general term for a surgical puncture to remove fluid.

Synonyms

• Pleural tap: A common informal term for the procedure.
• Chest tap: A descriptive synonym.

Notes on Usage

• Thoracentesis is a technical medical term used primarily in clinical and healthcare contexts. It is not typically used in everyday conversation.
• The procedure is often guided by ultrasound to improve accuracy and safety.

Học thuật

Noun

1. removal of fluid from the chest by centesis for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes

Từ đồng nghĩa

• thoracocentesis