The French scale or French gauge system is commonly used to measure the size (outside diameter) of a catheter. It is most often abbreviated as Fr, but can often abbreviated as FR or F. It may also be abbreviated as CH or Ch (for Charrière, its inventor) in French speaking countries. 1 Fr = 0.33 mm, and therefore the diameter of the catheter in millimeters can be determined by dividing the French size by 3:
D (mm) = Fr/3
or
Fr = D (mm) × 3
For example, if the French size is 9, the diameter is 3 mm.
An increasing French size corresponds to a larger diameter catheter. This is contrary to needle-gauge size, where an increasing gauge corresponds to a smaller diameter catheter.
The French gauge was devised by Joseph-Frédéric-Benoît Charrière, a 19th-century Parisian maker of surgical instruments, who defined the "diameter times 3" relationship.[1]
| French Gauge |
Diameter (mm) |
Diameter (inches) |
| 3 | 1 | 0.039 |
| 4 | 1.35 | 0.053 |
| 5 | 1.67 | 0.066 |
| 6 | 2 | 0.079 |
| 7 | 2.3 | 0.092 |
| 8 | 2.7 | 0.105 |
| 9 | 3 | 0.118 |
| 10 | 3.3 | 0.131 |
| 11 | 3.7 | 0.144 |
| 12 | 4 | 0.158 |
| 13 | 4.3 | 0.170 |
| 14 | 4.7 | 0.184 |
| 15 | 5 | 0.197 |
| 16 | 5.3 | 0.210 |
| 17 | 5.7 | 0.223 |
| 18 | 6 | 0.236 |
| 19 | 6.3 | 0.249 |
| 20 | 6.7 | 0.263 |
| 22 | 7.3 | 0.288 |
| 24 | 8 | 0.315 |
| 26 | 8.7 | 0.341 |
| 28 | 9.3 | 0.367 |
| 30 | 10 | 0.393 |
| 32 | 10.7 | 0.419 |
| 34 | 11.3 | 0.445 |