balloon

(bă-loon′ )

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[Fr. ballon, big ball]

1. To expand, dilate, or distend, as to expand a cavity by filling it with air or water in a bag.
2. A flexible, expandable object that can be placed inside a vessel or cavity to expand it or at the end of a catheter to prevent its removal.
SEE: catheter; SEE: percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty

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