Cannulas

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A slender tube inserted into a body cavity or vessel for the purpose of injecting or removing fluids
2. Implementing a hollow instrument used in medical procedures to provide access for drainage or injection
3. A flexible device designed to be placed into a vein or other tissues to facilitate the delivery of medication or fluids

Etymology: The word "cannulas" is simply the plural of "cannula," a hollow tube placed into the body for drainage or injection. The tube's name traces back to a humble plant: the Greek "kannē" meant "reed," which the Romans borrowed as "canna," a cane or reed. Adding the diminutive suffix "-ula" produced "cannula," a little reed, and Late Latin users extended it to tubular objects in general. Medical writers later picked up the term for a small tube used in surgery, which is the sense English adopted. The plural "cannulae" is the Latin form, and English speakers often use it alongside "cannulas," the more regularly anglicised ending. Behind a modern clinical device stands an ancient image of a hollow stalk, the same kind of stem that grows along a riverbank.

Synonyms: tubes, syringes, catheters, needles, drains