catheter

American  

[kath-i-ter] / ˈkæθ ɪ tər /

noun

Medicine/Medical.

1. a flexible or rigid hollow tube employed to drain fluids from body cavities or to distend body passages, especially one for passing into the bladder through the urethra to draw off urine or into the heart through a leg vein or arm vein for diagnostic examination.

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catheter British  

/ ˈkæθɪtə /

noun

1. med a long slender flexible tube for inserting into a natural bodily cavity or passage for introducing or withdrawing fluid, such as urine or blood

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catheter Scientific  

/ kăth′ĭ-tər /

1. A hollow, flexible tube inserted into a body cavity, duct, or vessel to allow the passage of fluids or distend a passageway.

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catheter Cultural  

1. A thin tube inserted into one of the channels or blood vessels in the body to remove fluids, create an opening into an internal cavity, or administer injections.

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Etymology

Origin of catheter

1595–1605; < Late Latin < Greek kathetḗr kind of tube, literally, something sent or let down, equivalent to kathe- (variant stem of kathiénai, equivalent to kat- cata- + hiénai to send, let go) + -tḗr agent suffix

Compare meaning

How does catheter compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• cannula vs. catheter

Explanation

A catheter is a thin, flexible tube that's inserted into the body to draw liquids out or keep a pathway open. It’s the kind of thing you’d get in the hospital. The word catheter is from the Greek kathienai which means, "thrust in or let down." That’s what happens when that small tube goes into your body and lets fluid out. If you have surgery in the belly area, you’ll probably need a catheter to drain the urine until you can go to the bathroom by yourself again. A catheter can also be inserted into other organs, like through a blood vessel and into the heart, to see what's going on.

Example Sentences

Temple University also holds financial interests in the BASHIR™ Endovascular Catheter and other Thrombolex products pursuant to the license granted to Thrombolex for the University's interest in patents co-invented by Dr. Riyaz Bashir.

From Science Daily • Dec. 4, 2023

This time, though, the family dinner isn’t interrupted by a nuclear missile, but the Catheter Cowboy with an important message: “Don’t do it, Donald.”

From Slate • Apr. 23, 2018

Think of him as the science version of the Catheter Cowboy, the parody character introduced this season on “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.”

From Salon • Apr. 20, 2017

He had a major role in HBO’s epic 1984 TV miniseries The Far Pavilions, and in 1990 he did sterling comic work as Dr Catheter in Joe Dante’s fantasy satire Gremlins 2: The New Batch.

From The Guardian • Jun. 14, 2015

Catheter, kath′e-tėr, n. a tube to be introduced through the urethra into the bladder to draw off the urine, or for injecting air or fluids into the Eustachian tube.—ns.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various