Insufflation

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌɪnsəˈfleɪʃən/

Definitions

1. The procedure of introducing air or gas into a bodily space for medical evaluations or treatments occurs frequently in clinical settings
2. This involves the application of air or gas into a cavity, commonly utilized in healthcare practices for diagnostic applications
3. The act of blowing air or gas into a bodily cavity is often employed in medical contexts for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes

Etymology: "Insufflation" is "insufflate" plus the suffix "-ion", so its story is really the story of the verb it comes from. "Insufflate" is built from Latin "in-", meaning "into", and "sufflare", meaning "to blow up" or "to breathe on", which in turn is made from "sub-" and "flare" ("to blow"). The original sense was physical: to blow something into a space. The suffix did most of the work of carrying the word into English. It descends from Latin "-tio", the noun-forming ending that turned verbs into nouns of action, which passed through Old French "-ation" and then Middle English "-aciun" before settling into the modern "-ation" and "-ion" forms. Put together, "insufflation" names the act of blowing air or gas into a cavity, a meaning that fits the medical use, where clinicians introduce gas or powder into a body passage to examine or treat it.

Synonyms: blowing, puffing