stent

noun

ˈstent 

: a short narrow metal or plastic tube often in the form of a mesh that is inserted into the lumen of an anatomical vessel (such as an artery or a bile duct) especially to keep a previously blocked passageway open

Examples of stent in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Due to a congenital heart disease, the infant had a stent placed to ensure proper blood flow. —Vanessa Etienne, People.com, 28 Apr. 2025

The dissection prevented doctors at the Raleigh campus of WakeMed Hospital from accessing his brain during surgery or inserting a stent to open the artery. —Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 17 Apr. 2025

Aneurysms—or bubbles in the wall of an artery—can be treated by threading a probe from an artery in the groin or the wrist up to the brain and closing off the affected area with a coil or a stent. —Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 20 Mar. 2025

As were those with a history of significant heart problems (heart attack, coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, coronary angioplasty or ‘stents’) and/or a family history of premature (before age 40) death from cardiac causes. —New Atlas, 25 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Charles Thomas Stent †1885 English dentist

First Known Use

1961, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for stent

• bent
• blent
• cent
• ent
• fent
• lent
• meant
• pent
• rent
• rente
• scent
• sent

Medical Definition

stent

noun

ˈstent 

variants also stint

ˈstint 

1

: a mold formed from a resinous compound and used for holding a surgical graft in place

also : something (as a pad of gauze immobilized by sutures) used like a stent

2

: a short narrow metal or plastic tube often in the form of a mesh that is inserted into the lumen of an anatomical vessel (as an artery or bile duct) especially to keep a previously blocked passageway open