Puncture
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A puncture ( lat. Punctio "to sting", to pungere "to prick") is the targeted placement of a needle or other pointed instrument in medicine . The tissue fluid or sample taken up in the process is called puncture .
A puncture can be used for injection into the body (e.g. intravenous injection ) or for removal from the body (e.g. lumbar puncture ). For this purpose, hollow needles ( cannula , trocar ) are used.
Punctures are made
- for injecting liquid drugs
- for the extraction of body fluids such as
- blood
- Urine ( suprapubic bladder puncture )
- Synovia (joint fluid)
- Liquor cerebrospinalis (cerebral fluid) ( lumbar puncture )
- Peritoneal fluid
- Pleural fluid ( pleural puncture )
- Bone marrow ( bone marrow puncture )
- for taking tissue samples ( punch biopsy or fine needle biopsy ; open surgical or minimally invasive biopsy)
- for draining pathological fluid accumulations
- Pus in abscesses
- Blood under nails ( nail trepanation )
- for releasing gas accumulations (e.g. in the intestines or rumen )
Some organs are easy to puncture with the appropriate skills (e.g. superficial blood vessels , skin , liver ). Other organs are difficult to puncture or the puncture is dangerous because it injures the organ or neighboring organs (e.g. spleen , gallbladder , intestine ). Imaging methods such as ultrasound or CT are used for targeted puncture of deeper organs .
Since some punctures can be quite painful, it is advisable to apply a local anesthetic beforehand and / or to administer a sedative .
