phlebotomy

American  

[fluh-bot-uh-mee] / fləˈbɒt ə mi /

noun

Medicine/Medical.

plural

phlebotomies

1. the act or practice of opening a vein for letting or drawing blood as a therapeutic or diagnostic measure; venesection; bleeding.

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phlebotomy British  

/ flɪˈbɒtəmɪ, ˌflɛbəˈtɒmɪk /

noun

1. Also called: venesection.  surgical incision into a vein

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phlebotomy Scientific  

/ flĭ-bŏt′ə-mē /

1. The act or practice of opening a vein by incision or puncture to remove blood.

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Other Word Forms

• phlebotomic adjective
• phlebotomist noun

Etymology

Origin of phlebotomy

First recorded in 1350–1400; earlier flebotomye, phlebothomy, from Middle French flebotomie, from Medieval Latin phlebotomia, Late Latin, from Greek phlebotomía; equivalent to phlebo- + -tomy; replacing Middle English fleobotomie, from Medieval Latin fleobotomia, variant of phlebotomia

Explanation

Doctors can tell a lot from looking at a patient's blood, and in order to do that, they depend on phlebotomy — the medical specialty of collecting blood using a needle. In some cases, phlebotomy can help to diagnose a patient with a particular illness. The person who inserts the needle, draws the blood, labels the test tubes, and puts a bandage on the patient's arm is called a phlebotomist. The original definition of phlebotomy was simply "bloodletting," from the Greek roots phleps, "vein," and tomia, "cutting off." Historically, early phlebotomy involved using leeches to suck "toxins" from patients' blood.

Example Sentences

Recently, The Christie - one of the largest cancer treatment centres of its type in Europe - has positioned phlebotomy units around the region in what's known as "bloods closer to home."

From BBC • May 10, 2024

Myton was laid off too and was thinking of studying to be a phlebotomy technician or perhaps a dog groomer.

From Washington Post • Dec. 11, 2020

I also did a whole series of what I call phlebotomy horror stories, which I loved doing.

From The New Yorker • Oct. 28, 2019

That’s like saying the U.S. knitwear scene is lagging because our most accurate needlers go into phlebotomy.

From Slate • May 11, 2018

The merit of phlebotomy for those afflicted with congestive heart failure was emphasized again in 1912 by H. A. Christian.

From Bloodletting Instruments in the National Museum of History and Technology by Appel, Toby