What it means
Fluid, usually sterile saline or water, is put in and then drained or suctioned out. Gastric lavage washes out the stomach through a tube; bronchoalveolar lavage washes a part of the lung during bronchoscopy to collect cells and germs for testing; a wound may also be lavaged to clean it.
At a glance
| Also written | lavages |
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Related terms
nasogastric tube
A thin, flexible tube passed through the nose and down the esophagus into the stomach.
irrigation
Washing out a wound, body cavity, tube or eye with a steady flow of liquid.