Hollow tubes used for passing into various organs of the body, either for investigational purposes or to give some form of treatment. They are used under strict sterile conditions.
are introduced through a vein in the arm and passed into the heart in order to diagnose some of the more obscure forms of congenital heart disease, and often as a preliminary to operating on the heart.
are used to pass down the TRACHEA into the lungs, usually in the course of administering anaesthetics or resuscitation (see under ANAESTHESIA).
are small catheters that are passed along the floor of the nose into the EUSTACHIAN TUBE in order to inflate the ear.
are tubes passed through the nose into the stomach to feed a patient who cannot swallow – so-called nasal feeding.
are passed into the RECTUM in order to introduce fluid into the rectum.
are passed into the bladder through an incision in the lower abdominal wall just above the pubis, either to allow urine to drain away from the bladder, or to wash out an infected bladder.
are passed up the ureter into the pelvis of the kidney, usually to determine the state of the kidney, either by obtaining a sample of urine direct from the kidney or to inject a radio-opaque substance preliminary to X-raying the kidney. (See PYELOGRAPHY.)
are catheters that are passed along the urethra into the bladder, either to draw off urine or to wash out the bladder.