Foley CatheterMedical Author:
Arasi Thangavelu-Veluswamy, MD, FAAEM
Coauthor:
Devi Thangavelu, MD
Medical Editor:
Ruben Olmedo, MD
Medical Editor:
Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD
Medical Editor:
James S Cohen, MD
Foley Catheter IntroductionA Foley catheter is a thin, sterile tube inserted into your bladder to drain urine. Because it can be left in place in the bladder for a period of time, it is also called an indwelling catheter. It is held in place with a balloon at the end, which is filled with sterile water to hold it in place. The urine drains into a bag and can then be taken from an outlet device to be drained. Laboratory tests can be conducted on your urine to look for infection, blood, muscle breakdown, crystals, electrolytes, and kidney function. The procedure to insert a catheter is called catheterization. A Foley catheter is used with many disorders, procedures, or problems such as these:
Viewer Comments & ReviewsFoley Catheter - ProcedureThe eMedicineHealth physician editors ask:What procedure did you have that required a Foley catheter? |
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Foley Catheter
Inability to Urinate Overview
When you cannot empty your bladder completely, or at all, despite an urge to urinate, you have urinary retention. To understand how urinary retention occurs, it is important to understand the basics of how urine is stored in and released from the body.
The bladder is a balloon-like organ in the lower part of the belly (pelvis) that stores urine.
- Urine is composed of waste and water filtered from the blood by the kidneys.
- It travels down two thin tubes called ureters (one from each kidney) to the bladder.
- When about 1 cup (200 ml-300 ml) of urine has collected in the bladder, a signal is produced in response to the stretch of the bladder from the nerves located in the bladder wall. This signal is sent to the nerves in the spinal cord and the brain, and the brain then returns a signal that starts contractions in the bladder wall. At the same time, another signal is sent to the internal sp...
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Incontinence, Urinary »
Urinary incontinence is defined by the International Continence Society as the involuntary loss of urine that represents a hygienic or social problem to the individual.
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