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plethysmography

plethysmography

1 9.9
A test that measures small changes in the size of a body part to check blood flow or breathing
  • noun
  • /pləˌθɪzˈmɒɡrəfi/
  • NSFW
: plethysmografía
  • The doctor performed plethysmography to assess the patient's blood flow in their legs.
  • penile plethysmography
  • Plethysmography results

Examples

  • Forearm blood flow was measured in both arms with venous occlusion plethysmography with temperature-compensated mercury in silastic strain gauges.

    Academic text (1992)
  • We measured tPTEF/tE by respiratory inductance plethysmography in newborn infants of mothers recruited to the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort Study (WAPCS).

    Academic text (1999)
  • We used uncalibrated inductance plethysmography.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Additionally, the effect of an incentive on the ability to fake on penile plethysmography was evaluated.

    Academic text (1991)
  • Penile plethysmography is considered a promising procedure for the assessment of sexual arousal and orientation.

    Academic text (1991)
  • Empirical data have consistently upheld the usefulness of penile plethysmography with a variety of clinical populations.

    Academic text (1991)
  • Penile plethysmography is currently regarded as a promising method of assessing erotic preference (Rosen & Beck, 1988).

    Academic text (1991)
  • Researchers used plethysmography to measure changes in lung capacity during the experiment.

  • During the study, plethysmography was utilized to evaluate the body's response to different stimuli.

Surface Forms

Morphology

plethysmography = plethysm + graphy

Although '-graphy' suggests a recording or measurement method, 'plethysm' is a highly specialized scientific element, so the full meaning is not readily inferable for an average learner.

Etymology

Plethysmography comes from the parts plethysmo- meaning 'full' or 'swelling' (think of plethora, 'a lot') and -graphy meaning 'writing' or 'recording'. So, plethysmography is like 'writing down' how full or swollen a body part is, which is why the test measures changes in blood flow or the air in the lungs.