ballottement

bal·lotte·ment  (b-ltmnt)

n. Medicine

A palpatory technique for detecting or examining a floating object in the body, as:

a. The use of a finger to push sharply against the uterus and detect the presence or position of a fetus by its return impact.

b. Palpation of the abdominal wall while a kidney is being pushed sharply from the backside, used as a test for determining the presence of a floating kidney.

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[French, from ballotter, to toss, from Italian ballotta, diminutive of dialectal balla, ball; see balloon.]

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ballottement [bəˈlɒtmənt]

n

(Medicine / Gynaecology & Obstetrics) Med a technique of feeling for a movable object in the body, esp confirmation of pregnancy by feeling the rebound of the fetus following a quick digital tap on the wall of the uterus

[from French, literally: a tossing, shaking, from ballotter to toss, from ballotte a little ball, from Italian ballotta; see ballot]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

ballottement - a palpatory technique for feeling a floating object in the body (especially for determining the position of a fetus by feeling the rebound of the fetus after a quick digital tap on the wall of the uterus) palpation, tactual exploration - a method of examination in which the examiner feels the size or shape or firmness or location of something (of body parts when the examiner is a health professional)