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Aspiration

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Aspiration

Overview

Aspiration

Definition:

Aspiration means to draw in or out using suction. The medical term has two meanings, depending on how it is used. It can refer to breathing in a foreign object (such as sucking food into the airway).

The term can also refer to a medical procedure to remove harmful or misplaced substances from a body cavity, such as air, body fluids, or bone fragments. (An example is removing ascites fluid from the abdomen.) This procedure may also be used to remove tissue samples for a biopsy, sometimes called a needle biopsy or aspirate. (For example, aspiration of a breast lesion.)

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Related topics:

• Foreign object in the airway
• Foreign object in the nose
• Aspiration pneumonia

References:
Anderson DM. Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary. 28th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: WB Saunders;1994.

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