Therapeutic irrigation

In medicine, therapeutic irrigation or lavage ( /ləˈvɑːʒ/ lə-VAHZH or /ˈlævɨdʒ/ lav-ij) is a general term referring to cleaning or rinsing.

Specific types include:

• Antiseptic lavage
• Bronchoalveolar lavage
• Gastric lavage
• Peritoneal lavage
• Arthroscopic lavage
• Ductal lavage
• Ear lavage
• Pulsed lavage is delivering an irrigant (usually normal saline) under direct pressure that is produced by an electrically powered device, and is useful in cleaning e.g. chronic wounds.^[1]

Etymology

The French noun lavage was imported intact into medical English, which explains the French-like pronunciation. The word comes from the French verb laver, "to wash", which comes from the Latin verb lavāre. However, the word has been more or less naturalized, thus the naturalized variant pronunciation..

See also

• Vaginal douche

References