Definition of "catheter" [cath•e•ter]

• A hollow flexible tube for insertion into a body cavity, duct, or vessel to allow the passage of fluids or distend a passageway. Its uses include the drainage of urine from the bladder through the urethra or insertion through a blood vessel into the heart for diagnostic purposes. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "A thin catheter is passed through a small incision into a blood vessel, usually in the knee or arm."
• "I am meeting with a cardiologist and will probably undergo what they call a catheter ablation to correct the SVT ..."
• "The other end of the catheter is tunneled under the skin and exits from the side of the chest."