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What is a catheter?
A catheter is a long, thin hollow tube, usually made of plastic or rubber. It is a medical device made to be inserted into a body cavity. Similar to a reversible hose vacuum, it can either inject (infuse) or drain fluids from the body.

What is the history of catheters?

Urinary catheters were used as early as 3,000 BC in ancient Greece. The word catheter comes from the Greek word katheter, meaning anything let down. The hollow catheter shape was formed by straws, rolled up palm leaves, and even rigid metal. A more modern flexible urinary catheter was invented in the 18th century by Benjamin Franklin. These early catheters were mainly used for urinary problems, and 1844 was the first time a catheter was used for a cardiac procedure.

How are catheters used?

A common misconception is that the only type of catheter is a urinary catheter. While this is how the catheter was originally used, there are now many different types of catheters with a wide variety of uses. They all share the same basic structure of a thin, hollow tube, but their specific structure varies depending on the use.

Figure 1 - IV Catheter

1. Intravenous Catheter: This is perhaps the most common type of catheter, usually referred to as an IV. An IV is used to transfer fluids, such as medicine, into the body. It can also be used to extract fluids. An IV would be used to extract blood from a donor and then again one would be used to perform the transfusion to the recipient. Figure 1 shows an example catheter with a needle attached for injection.

2. Urinary Catheter: This catheter is used to drain urine from the bladder is commonly used to treat patients during long medical procedures or surgeries. It can also be used to treat people with urinary dysfunction or other disorders that disrupt bladder control. In Figure 2, a urinary catheter with a balloon tip, is shown. The balloon

Figure 2 - Urinary Catheter

is inflated with sterile water to keep the catheter in place once it is inserted into the urinary tract. 3. Cardiac Catheter: Catheters can also be very useful tools to treat various heart conditions. Angioplasty is a common procedure in which a catheter is inserted into a blocked or collapsed coronary (heart) artery and inflated. The catheter can also be used as a pathway through which the doctor can perform other procedures and tests on the heart.
Figure 3 - Cardiac Catheter

How is a catheter made?

The flexible tube of the catheter is usually made from latex, silicone, or Teflon. Most catheters are equipped with an inflatable latex balloon at the tip, as shown in the urinary catheter in Figure 2. In a coronary catheter, for example, this balloon would be inflated once the tip was inserted into the artery to re-structure the artery. The catheter is usually attached to a drainage bag and a needleless syringe to inflate the balloon.

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