gastric lavage: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
C2Medical/Technical
Quick answer
What does “gastric lavage” mean?
A medical procedure involving the washing out of the stomach with a solution.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A medical procedure involving the washing out of the stomach with a solution.
A clinical intervention, typically performed in emergency settings, to empty and clean the stomach, often to remove ingested toxins, poisons, or for other diagnostic or therapeutic reasons.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant differences in meaning or usage. Both regions use the identical term. The older lay term 'stomach pumping' might be slightly more common in everyday American English, but 'gastric lavage' is the standard clinical term in both.
Connotations
Identical. Evokes emergency medicine, poisoning, overdose, or pre-operative preparation.
Frequency
Higher frequency in medical contexts (emergency medicine, toxicology). Rarely used in everyday conversation outside of discussing specific medical events.
Grammar
How to Use “gastric lavage” in a Sentence
The medical team performed gastric lavage ON the patient.Gastric lavage was performed FOR suspected poisoning.The doctor decided AGAINST gastric lavage.Vocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “gastric lavage” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- The protocol advised to lavage the stomach immediately.
American English
- The team decided to lavage the stomach with saline.
adverb
British English
- The stomach was lavaged repeatedly until the effluent was clear.
American English
- Not typically used as a derived adverb.
adjective
British English
- The lavage fluid was sent for toxicology analysis.
American English
- A large-bore lavage tube was inserted.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Not used.
Academic
Used in medical, nursing, and pharmacology textbooks, journals, and research papers.
Everyday
Extremely rare. Might appear in news reports of poisonings or in personal medical histories.
Technical
Core term in emergency medicine, clinical toxicology, and gastroenterology protocols.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “gastric lavage”
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “gastric lavage”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “gastric lavage”
- Mispronouncing 'lavage' as /ˈlævɪdʒ/ instead of /ləˈvɑːʒ/.
- Using it as a verb (e.g., 'They gastric lavaged him') – it is a noun phrase. The verb is 'to lavage'.
- Confusing it with 'gastric bypass', a different surgical procedure.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
The procedure is performed under sedation or with local anaesthetic to the throat, so the patient should not feel pain, though it is highly uncomfortable and invasive.
Yes, 'stomach pumping' is the common, non-technical term for gastric lavage.
It is primarily used in emergency medicine for recent (typically within 1 hour) ingestion of a potentially life-threatening poison or overdose, where the substance is still likely to be in the stomach.
Risks include aspiration pneumonia (inhaling stomach contents), injury to the throat, oesophagus, or stomach, and electrolyte imbalances.
A medical procedure involving the washing out of the stomach with a solution.
Gastric lavage is usually medical/technical in register.
Gastric lavage: in British English it is pronounced /ˌɡæstrɪk ləˈvɑːʒ/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˌɡæstrɪk ləˈvɑːʒ/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “None. It is a literal technical term.”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of LAVage as related to LAVatory (a place for washing) – it's a 'washing' of the GASTric (stomach) area.
Conceptual Metaphor
The stomach is a container that can be cleaned by flushing (like a pipe or tank).
Practice
Quiz
What is the primary purpose of gastric lavage?