What is the purpose of a catheter?

The primary purpose of a catheter is to inject or remove fluids from the body. Catheters are flexible tubes that can be inserted into various body cavities or vessels to allow access for administering medications, fluids, or blood products. Additionally, they can facilitate the drainage of fluids or other substances from the body, such as urine from the bladder or abscess drainage.

This functionality is vital in numerous medical situations, such as for patients who cannot urinate on their own, for those requiring intravenous therapy, or for procedures where precise fluid management is essential.

Other choices listed here serve different specific purposes. Monitoring heart rate typically involves different devices like electrocardiograms (ECGs) or pulse oximeters. Surgical procedures are carried out with instruments specifically designed for that purpose, while blood pressure measurement is done using a sphygmomanometer or similar devices, not catheters.