balloon catheter

balloon catheter

noun

Definition of BALLOON CATHETER

: a catheter that has two lumens and an inflatable tip which can be expanded by the passage of gas, water, or a radiopaque medium through one of the lumens and that is used especially to measure blood pressure in a blood vessel or to expand a partly closed or obstructed bodily passage or tube (as a coronary artery)—called also balloon-tipped catheter; see percutaneous transluminal angioplasty; compare swan-ganz catheter