Definition of "patency" [pa•ten•cy]

• The state or quality of being obvious. (noun)
• Biology The state or quality of being open, expanded, or unblocked. (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.

• "ATLANTA -- Coronary artery bypass grafts taken from the radial artery may provide short-term patency that is just as good as standard saphenous vein grafts, researchers found in a randomized trial."
• "However, the question of long-term patency awaits a planned, five-year angiographic follow-up, according to Steven Goldman, MD, of the Tucson VA Hospital in Arizona, who reported the results here at the American College of Cardiology meeting."
• "Advance PTX is designed to increase long-term patency in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and is one of the first PTA balloon catheters to be coated with paclitaxel, an antiproliferative drug that has been used successfully to reduce the risk of arterial restenosis following angioplasty in coronary disease patients."