Venous access
When venous access is defined as the puncture of a central or peripheral vein and the insertion of a plastic cannula or a venous catheter in the punctured vein for a longer residence time. The venous access is used for the intravenous administration of medication , for blood collection , for parenteral nutrition and fluid substitution and for the introduction of instruments (e.g. for cardiac catheter examinations ).
Venous accesses are differentiated into peripheral venous and central venous accesses according to the location of their introduction . Peripheral venous access is usually used for temporary therapies lasting a few days. If venous access is necessary for a longer period of time, for example in chemotherapy , central venous catheters, in particular tunneled central venous catheters ( Hickman catheters , Broviac catheters ), or port catheters are used.
A special form of central venous access is the PICC catheter (peripherally inserted central venous catheter), in which the central venous catheter is inserted through a peripheral vein of the upper arm.