Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Paracentesis

Paracentesis (par`ȧ*sen*tē"sis) , noun

[Latin, from Greek parake`nthsis, from parakentei^n to pierce at the side, to tap.]

(Medicine) The perforation of a cavity of the body with a trocar, aspirator, or other suitable instrument, for the evacuation of effused fluid, pus, or gas; tapping.