A medical procedure in which a needle is inserted through the abdominal wall to remove fluid for diagnosis or treatment, also called a paracentesis.
From Latin 'abdomen' plus Greek 'kentesis' (puncture or perforation), created in modern medical terminology to describe this surgical technique.
Doctors call this 'abdominocentesis' or the shorter 'paracentesis,' showing how medical terminology often gets redundant alternatives—ancient Greek gives the elegant version, Latin compounds give the clunky one.
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