In medicine, lavage (pronounced /ləˈvɑːʒ/ or /ˈlævˌɪdʒ/) (lə-VAHZH or LĂV-ĭj) is a general term referring to cleaning or rinsing. Specific types include:

• Antiseptic lavage
• Bronchoalveolar lavage
• Gastric lavage
• Peritoneal lavage
• Arthroscopic lavage
• Ductal lavage
• Ear lavage

[edit] Etymology

The French noun lavage was imported intact into medical English. This explains the French-like pronunciation. However, the word has been more or less naturalized, which explains the naturalized variant pronunciation. The word comes from the French verb laver, "to wash", which comes from the Latin verb lavāre.

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