What is "paracentesis"

Paracentesis \Par`a*cen*te"sis\ (p[a^]r`[.a]*s[e^]n*t[=e]"s[i^]s), n. [L., fr. Gr. parake`nthsis, fr. parakentei^n to pierce at the side, to tap.] (Med.) The perforation of a cavity of the body with a trocar, aspirator, or other suitable instrument, for the evacuation of effused fluid, pus, or gas; tapping.

1590s, from medical Latin form of Greek parakentesis "perforation," from parakentein "to pierce at the side," from para- "beside" (see para- (1)) + kentein "to prick, stab" (see center (n.)).

n. (context surgery English) A medical procedure involving needle drainage of fluid from a body cavity, most commonly the abdomen.

n. centesis of the belly to remove fluid for diagnosis [syn: abdominocentesis]

Paracentesis (from Greek κεντάω, "to pierce") is a form of body fluid sampling procedure, generally referring to peritoneocentesis (also called laparocentesis) in which the peritoneal cavity is punctured by a needle to sample peritoneal fluid.Farlex dictionary > paracentesis, citing:

• Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. Copyright 2008
• The American Heritage Medical Dictionary Copyright 2007
• McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. Copyright 2002