The insertion of a catheter (thin, flexible tube) into a body cavity, duct, or vessel for medical purposes such as draining fluids, delivering medications, or performing diagnostic procedures. Common types include urinary and cardiac catheterization.
From Greek 'katheter' meaning 'something sent down,' derived from 'kata' (down) and 'hienai' (to send). The term originally described instruments used to drain the bladder, dating back to ancient Egyptian and Greek medicine.
Cardiac catheterization revolutionized heart medicine by allowing doctors to see inside beating hearts without open surgery - they thread a tiny camera through blood vessels from your wrist or groin all the way to your heart! This minimally invasive approach has saved millions of lives and turned what used to be major surgery into an outpatient procedure.
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