What does ventouse mean?
A ventouse is a cup-shaped medical instrument that creates suction. In its best-known use, an obstetrician attaches a ventouse to a baby's head during childbirth and applies controlled vacuum to help rotate or draw the baby through the birth canal. It is therefore associated with assisted or operative delivery, but it differs from forceps because it does not rely on a blade-shaped grasping instrument. The word can also refer more broadly to medical suction cups used to draw fluid or encourage local blood flow. Ventouse is formal and chiefly associated with British obstetric terminology, while American clinicians commonly say vacuum extractor. The word is notable for combining a simple cup-shaped design with an important technical function: making controlled suction useful for both childbirth and other medical procedures.
nounA ventouse is a cup-shaped instrument that creates suction and is attached to a baby's head during childbirth to assist delivery. More broadly, it is a medical suction cup used to draw fluid or increase local blood flow.
- A cup-shaped obstetric instrument attached to a baby's head to create suction and assist delivery.
- A medical suction cup used to draw fluid from or near the body, or to increase local blood flow.
"The obstetrician used a ventouse to assist the delivery when the baby was in a difficult position."
"A ventouse was applied to the baby's head to facilitate a difficult delivery."
"The clinician placed a ventouse over the affected area to draw fluid from the tissue."
The standard plural adds -es.
"The hospital had two ventouses available for assisted deliveries."
A ventouse puts vacuum-assisted delivery into practice: it uses controlled suction rather than the mechanical grip of forceps.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of ventouse
Ventouse entered English from French ventouse, meaning a suction cup, which developed from Medieval Latin ventosa. The Latin word was based on ventosus, related to venter, “belly,” reflecting an earlier association with the abdomen or womb. English later specialized the term for the suction instrument used to assist childbirth.
Related word forms
How ventouse is actually used
The term is formal and technical. In British obstetrics, ventouse is common; American usage more often favors vacuum extractor, although ventouse is also understood.