Meaning & use
curettage
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Meaning
noununcountablemedicaltechnical
A medical procedure in which a doctor scrapes tissue from the inside of a body cavity, especially the uterus.
Grammar: Uncountable: say 'curettage was performed', not 'a curettage'; it can be used with 'the' when referring to a specific procedure.
Patterns
- perform curettage
- undergo curettage
- curettage of the uterus
The doctor performed curettage to remove the remaining tissue after the miscarriage.
After the procedure, the patient was told that curettage had been successful.
Curettage is sometimes used to diagnose conditions of the uterus.
Common combinations
- perform curettage
- The surgeon had to perform curettage to stop the bleeding.
- undergo curettage
- She had to undergo curettage after the incomplete miscarriage.
- curettage of the uterus
- Curettage of the uterus is a common gynecological procedure.
- dilatation and curettage
- The doctor recommended dilatation and curettage to investigate the abnormal bleeding.
Synonyms and how they differ
- scraping
- A general word for removing tissue by scraping; 'curettage' is the specific medical term.
- D and C
- An abbreviation for 'dilatation and curettage', a common type of curettage; it is less formal.
Word family
- curette noun
- A small surgical instrument shaped like a spoon, used for scraping tissue.
- curette verb
- To scrape tissue using a curette.
Commonly confused: curettage or curettage?
curettage vs curettage
This is the noun for the procedure; 'curette' is the tool or the verb.
Practice
After the miscarriage, the doctor performed ___ to remove the remaining tissue.
Choose one answer.
'Curettage' is uncountable, so it takes no article: 'performed curettage'. 'A curettage' and 'curettages' are wrong because the noun is not countable, and 'curette' is the instrument or verb, not the procedure.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “curettage”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.