Akademik

Dilation

The process of enlargement or expansion. The word "dilatation" means the same thing. Both come from the Latin "dilatare" meaning "to enlarge or expand."

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1. Physiologic or artificial enlargement of a hollow structure or opening. 2. The act of stretching or enlarging an opening or the lumen of a hollow structure. SYN: dilatation. [L. dilato, pp. dilatatus, to spread out, dilate]

- d. and extraction a form of abortion in which the cervix is dilated and the fetus extracted in pieces using surgical forceps; technique used to complete a second trimester spontaneous abortion or as a form of induced abortion.

- post- stenotic d. d. of an artery, most commonly the pulmonary artery or the aorta, distal to an area of narrowing.

- d. and suction SYN: suction curettage.

- urethral d. increasing the caliber of the urethra by passage of a dilator.

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di·la·tion dī-'lā-shən n

1) the state of being dilated: DILATATION

2) the action of stretching or enlarging an organ or part of the body <cervical \dilation> <\dilation of the pupil with atropine>

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di·la·tion (di-laґshən) 1. the act of dilating or stretching; it may be either a normal physiological process done by muscles or a therapeutic process done by dilators. 2. dilatation (def. 1).

Medical dictionary. 2011.