Pulmonary artery catheter

Anaesthetic Glossary

The pulmonary artery catheter is placed into the large veins of the body using sterile technique.

AKA: Swan-Ganz or Swan

A special type of central venous catheter that allows us to measure the filling of the heart and the amount of blood being pumped by the heart.

This catheter is routinely used in cardiac procedures and where we expect large fluid loss or where the patient has a bad heart.