The medical practice or technique of using a catheter to examine or treat a patient's body cavities or blood vessels.
From catheter plus the suffix -ism (denoting a practice, system, or condition), which comes from Greek -ismos. This term developed in the 18th century as catheterization became a recognized medical specialty.
Catheterism unlocked the mystery of the heart—before catheters could be threaded into blood vessels, cardiologists couldn't see how hearts actually worked, so this technique literally revolutionized cardiac medicine!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.