Surgical

A mobile x-ray unit shaped like a C, with the x-ray tube at one end and the image intensifier at the other, used for fluoroscopy in the OR.

The Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, which accredits surgical technology and surgical assisting programs.

An open operation that enters the maxillary sinus through the mouth, above the upper teeth, to clear disease and make a drainage window into the nose.

A small triangle near the neck of the gallbladder bordered by the cystic duct, the common hepatic duct and the cystic artery.

One of the cup-shaped spaces inside the kidney that collect urine from the tips of the renal pyramids and pass it on to the renal pelvis.

The video tower unit that the endoscopic camera plugs into, which processes its signal into the picture on the monitor.

The light, porous inner bone made of a network of thin struts, with marrow in the spaces between them; also called spongy bone.

Either corner of the eye, where the upper and lower eyelids meet.

The passing of electrosurgical current through intact insulation into a nearby metal object, which can then burn the tissue it touches.

In suture, a strand's ability to soak up fluid and carry it along its length, also called wicking.

Measuring the carbon dioxide in each breath out and showing it as a number and a wave on the monitor.

The step of cataract surgery that tears a continuous round opening in the front of the lens capsule.

The part of the stomach around the opening from the esophagus.

The band of connective tissue at the base of each broad ligament, beside the cervix, that gives the uterus its main support and carries the uterine vessels.

Using a heart-lung machine to pump and oxygenate the blood outside the body, so the heart can be stopped for surgery.

The ridge inside the lower end of the windpipe that separates the openings of the right and left main bronchi.

One of the large arteries that run up each side of the neck and carry blood to the head, face and brain.

A temporary flexible tube placed in a carotid endarterectomy to carry blood past the clamped, opened artery so the brain keeps its blood supply.

A closed cart that sterile processing fills with the instruments and supplies for one scheduled case, built from the surgeon's preference card.

A rigid dressing of plaster or fiberglass that goes all the way around a body part to hold it still while it heals.

Surgery that removes the clouded lens of the eye, almost always replacing it with an intraocular lens.

An epidural block given from below, through an opening at the base of the sacrum, to numb the perineum, groin and lower body.

Destroying or sealing tissue with heat, cold, chemicals or electricity; in the OR, also the everyday name for the electrosurgical unit and its pencil.

The forming and collapse of tiny bubbles in a liquid; in an ultrasonic cleaner, it knocks soil loose from instruments.

The blind pouch at the start of the large intestine, in the right lower abdomen below where the ileum opens in; the appendix hangs from it.

A first-generation cephalosporin antibiotic given by injection into a vein or muscle.

A short, wide artery off the front of the abdominal aorta that divides into the left gastric, splenic and common hepatic arteries.

Collecting the blood a patient loses during surgery, washing or filtering it, and giving it back to the same patient.

An encircling band of strong suture, tape or wire, most often placed around the cervix to hold it closed during pregnancy.

A weak spot in the wall of an artery in the brain that balloons out, most often at a branch point of the circle of Willis.

A weak cervix that opens without labor during pregnancy, usually in the second trimester, so the pregnancy is lost or delivered too early.

Relating to the birth of a baby through a surgical cut in the mother's abdomen and uterus.

Birth of a baby through surgical cuts in the belly and the uterus.

The written record of every person who handled a piece of evidence or a specimen, in order, with the time of each handoff.

A firm lump in the eyelid from a blocked oil gland, made of chronically inflamed tissue.

A step of closed-loop communication in which the receiver of a message confirms it back to the sender.

Plastic surgery of the lip, most often the repair of a cleft lip.

A chemical that binds metal or mineral ions and holds them in solution.

An ink or strip that changes color when exposed to one or more conditions of a sterilization cycle, such as temperature or steam.

An accidental release of a hazardous chemical, such as a disinfectant or formalin, handled by its safety data sheet and facility policy.

A closed, three-chamber box connected to a chest tube that collects drainage, stops air from going back into the chest and controls suction.

Two firm, padded rolls placed lengthwise under a prone patient, one on each side, from the collarbones to the hip bones.

Right and left subcostal incisions joined at the midline in an upside-down V, for wide exposure of the upper abdomen.

An antiseptic that kills a wide range of germs on the skin and keeps working after it dries, used for skin preps, scrubs and preoperative baths.

The two openings at the back of the nasal cavity, one on each side of the septum, through which the nose opens into the nasopharynx.

A plate of bone or membrane, present from birth, that blocks one or both openings at the back of the nose.

X-ray imaging of the bile ducts after contrast is injected into them, to look for stones, a blockage, an injury or the duct anatomy.

Surgery to remove the gallbladder.

An opening made into the gallbladder through the abdominal wall, usually with a drainage tube, to drain it.

Looking inside the common bile duct with a thin scope, the choledochoscope, to find and remove stones.