amniocentesis

IPA: æmnioʊsɛntˈisɪs

(medicine) A procedure for obtaining amniotic fluid from a pregnant animal, by inserting a hollow needle through the abdominal wall and into the amniotic sac. Used in diagnosing possible genetic defects and/or obstetric complications.

Examples of "amniocentesis" in Sentences

Usually it's the needle procedure Witkowski had, called amniocentesis, done almost four months or more into the pregnancy.
A genetic amniocentesis is recommended in the evaluation of possible TTTS to confirm same sex status and to rule out chromosome abnormalities and fetal infection.
Pregnant women often opt for a prenatal test called amniocentesis that requires a needle to be inserted through the walls of the abdomen and uterus to draw a sample of the fluid surrounding the fetus.
No one expects such tests to immediately replace amniocentesis, which is considered the gold standard for acquiring definitive genetic information and is performed around 200,000 times a year in the U.S. alone.
This paper was rushed into print in order to establish priority for this fundamental discovery, which helped lay the foundation for the prenatal diagnostic technique called amniocentesis and the discipline called medical genetics.
One area Dr. Tita says he'd like to explore further is whether late-term amniocentesis, currently used to determine respiratory health in a fetus, could be used more widely to sort out which deliveries carry the most risks and which ones could, indeed, be performed before 39 weeks.
It seems that ACOG (The American College of OB/GYN's) you know, your friendly OB who gives pregnant women 25 mcg of mercury in that flu shot, is now offering a screening for Down syndrome to all women of any age - not just via amniocentesis, which is typically used only in women over age 35.