Question

You are attending to a patient who was involved in a car crash. He was not wearing his seat belt when he ran off the highway and hit a tree. You correctly assume that he has cardiac tamponade. On arrival at the hospital the doctor performs pericardiocentesis. The suffix "-centesis" means:

Answer 1

The suffix '-centesis' in pericardiocentesis indicates a surgical procedure to aspirate fluid, aimed at treating cardiac tamponade by removing excess fluid from the pericardial cavity surrounding the heart.

Step-by-step explanation:

The suffix -centesis refers to a surgical procedure that involves piercing a body cavity or space to aspirate fluid. In the case of pericardiocentesis, it is the procedure performed to remove excess fluid from the pericardial cavity that surrounds the heart when a patient has cardiac tamponade. This condition occurs when the accumulation of fluid prevents the heart from expanding fully during relaxation, impeding its ability to pump an adequate volume of blood with each heartbeat, which can be life-threatening and necessitates urgent medical intervention.

Cardiac tamponade can be caused by various factors including trauma, myocardial rupture, cancer, or complications post cardiac surgery. The goal of pericardiocentesis is to relieve pressure on the heart by draining the excess fluid, therefore allowing the heart to relax and refill more effectively, improving the patient's overall hemodynamics.