Central venous catheter
A long, flexible, multi-lumen catheter inserted into a large central vein (internal jugular, subclavian, or femoral) with its tip positioned in the vena cava or right atrium.
How it is used
Used to obtain reliable vascular access in major surgery or critically ill patients, to administer vasoactive or irritant drugs and parenteral nutrition, and to measure central venous pressure.
Clinical tip
Real-time ultrasound-guided placement has significantly reduced mechanical complications compared with landmark-based technique alone.
Sources
This entry is part of the Instriq catalog, researched and written per specialty from real web research -- never generated or invented without verification -- and reviewed skeptically and independently before publication. How this catalog is written.
History
Added to the catalog on 2026-10-05.
Dates derived from the project's public version-control history on GitHub, not a live collaborative edit log.