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Welcome Disease Treatment Options Cook Medical Products Glossary

Glossary of terms


A

Anticoagulant

Blood thinner or a medicine that reduces your body’s ability to form blood clots.

Antiplatelet

Medicine that helps prevent your blood cells from sticking to each other.

B

Balloon catheter

A balloon that is attached to, and inflated through, a hollow, flexible tube.

C

Catheter

A hollow, flexible tube that is used to access parts of the body, such as veins.

Compression therapy

Use of special socks or stockings that squeeze the legs to help blood flow more easily through the veins and back to the heart.

D

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT)

A blood clot that has formed inside a vein deep inside your body. The clot can completely or partially block blood flow.

Duplex ultrasound

A way for doctors to see inside the body using sound waves.

I

Iliac vein compression

Pressure on the outside of the vein which limits blood flow back to the heart; it can be caused by an artery squeezing the vein, referred to as May-Thurner syndrome.

Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)

A kind of imaging that uses sound waves to see directly inside a vein.

N

Nitinol

A metal that combines nickel and titanium. Nitinol retains its shape, even after being squeezed or bent many times.

O

Occlusion

Blockage of a vein allowing no blood flow to return to the heart.

S

Stent

A small, metal tube that lines the inside of the vein and helps keep the vein open and blood flowing easily.

V

Venography

A way of taking x-rays of veins after a special dye is injected.

Venoplasty

A way to open narrowed or blocked veins by using a small balloon catheter.

Updated on March 21, 2022.