amniocentesis
noun
am·nio·cen·te·sis ˌam-nē-ō-(ˌ)sen-ˈtē-səs 
plural amniocenteses ˌam-nē-ō-(ˌ)sen-ˈtē-ˌsēz
: the surgical insertion of a hollow needle through the abdominal wall and into the uterus to obtain amniotic fluid especially for the determination of fetal sex or chromosomal abnormality
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web A week after the initial test results, an amniocentesis and an ultrasound to see Juliet’s anatomy confirmed the worst: Juliet had a severe heart condition, muscular problems, and other complications. 
al, 29 June 2022 By 23 weeks, Miller still didn’t have the final results of her amniocentesis, but Pennsylvania law bans abortions after 24 weeks. Aria Bendix, NBC News, 11 May 2022 A week after the initial test results, an amniocentesis and an ultrasound to see Juliet's anatomy confirmed the worst: Juliet had a severe heart condition, muscular problems, and other complications. Sara Reardon, CBS News, 27 June 2022 That's because ultrasounds don’t usually give a clear picture of abnormalities until around 18 to 20 weeks, and patients must wait until nearly halfway into pregnancy to get tests like an amniocentesis to diagnose genetic disorders. Aria Bendix, NBC News, 11 May 2022 To be clear, only invasive tests like amniocentesis that analyze DNA taken directly from fetal cells can confirm a prenatal genetic diagnosis. Daniel Navon, Scientific American, 5 May 2022 Greves said 90% of his patients who come to him because of a fetal abnormality are more than 15 weeks pregnant, mostly because amniocentesis, ultrasounds and blood tests that reveal that type of information are done later in gestation. Caroline Catherman, sun-sentinel.com, 27 Feb. 2022 Since then, the use of very invasive needle-to-the-womb amniocentesis testing has dropped. Andy Kessler, WSJ, 5 July 2020 One allows doctors to do prenatal genetic screening with a simple blood draw, without a risky amniocentesis procedure. Paul R. Michel And Matthew J. Dowd, WSJ, 23 Jan. 2020 See More
al, 29 June 2022 By 23 weeks, Miller still didn’t have the final results of her amniocentesis, but Pennsylvania law bans abortions after 24 weeks. Aria Bendix, NBC News, 11 May 2022 A week after the initial test results, an amniocentesis and an ultrasound to see Juliet's anatomy confirmed the worst: Juliet had a severe heart condition, muscular problems, and other complications. Sara Reardon, CBS News, 27 June 2022 That's because ultrasounds don’t usually give a clear picture of abnormalities until around 18 to 20 weeks, and patients must wait until nearly halfway into pregnancy to get tests like an amniocentesis to diagnose genetic disorders. Aria Bendix, NBC News, 11 May 2022 To be clear, only invasive tests like amniocentesis that analyze DNA taken directly from fetal cells can confirm a prenatal genetic diagnosis. Daniel Navon, Scientific American, 5 May 2022 Greves said 90% of his patients who come to him because of a fetal abnormality are more than 15 weeks pregnant, mostly because amniocentesis, ultrasounds and blood tests that reveal that type of information are done later in gestation. Caroline Catherman, sun-sentinel.com, 27 Feb. 2022 Since then, the use of very invasive needle-to-the-womb amniocentesis testing has dropped. Andy Kessler, WSJ, 5 July 2020 One allows doctors to do prenatal genetic screening with a simple blood draw, without a risky amniocentesis procedure. Paul R. Michel And Matthew J. Dowd, WSJ, 23 Jan. 2020 See More Word History
Etymology
New Latin, from amnion + centesis puncture, from Greek kentesis, from kentein to prick — more at center
First Known Use
1957, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
amniocentesis
noun
am·nio·cen·te·sis ˌam-nē-ō-(ˌ)sen-ˈtē-səs
plural amniocenteses -ˌsēz
: the surgical insertion of a hollow needle through the abdominal wall and into the uterus of a pregnant female to obtain amniotic fluid especially to examine the fetal chromosomes for an abnormality and for the determination of sex