bronchoalveolar lavage
(redirected from Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid)Also found in: Acronyms.
lavage
[lah-vahzh´]1. irrigation or washing out of an organ or cavity, as of the stomach or intestine.
2. to wash out, or irrigate.
bronchoalveolar lavage a technique by which cells and fluid from bronchioles and lung alveoli are removed for diagnosis of disease or evaluation of treatment; a bronchoscope is wedged into a bronchus and sterile saline is pumped in and then removed along with the fluid and cells to be analyzed.
Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.
bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL),
procedure for collecting the cellular milieu of the alveoli (for example, microorganisms, types of inflammatory cells) by use of a bronchoscope or other hollow tube through which saline is instilled into distal bronchi and then withdrawn.
Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
bronchoalveolar lavage
A “wash” of the upper respiratory tract mucosa to obtain cells for evaluating inflammation, infection or cancer.Utility of BAL
• Cytologic analysis;
• Analysis of CD4:CD8 ratio; and rarely also
• To obtain cells for gene rearrangement to diagnose lymphoma.
Segen's Medical Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
bronchoalveolar lavage
Cytology A 'wash' of the upper respiratory tract to obtain cells for evaluating inflammation or cancer of lungs; BAL material is used for1. Cytologic analysis.
2. Analysis of CD4:CD8 ratio and, rarely.
3. To obtain cells for gene rearrangement, ie Southern blot hybridization, to diagnose lymphoma.
McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
bron·cho·al·ve·o·lar la·vage
(BAL) (brong'kō-al-vē'ŏ-lăr lă-vahzh')A procedureperformed using fiberoptic bronchoscopy, during which a distal airway is occluded and liquid is then introduced into the airway and recovered for examination of cell types and microorganisms.
Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing © Farlex 2012
Bronchoalveolar lavage
A way of obtaining a sample of fluid from the airways by inserting a flexible tube through the windpipe. Used to diagnose the type of lung disease.
Mentioned in: Bronchoscopy, Idiopathic Infiltrative Lung Diseases
Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.