Dictionary

Valsalva manoeuvre en · NOUN

Etymology

Named after Italian anatomist Antonio Maria Valsalva (1666–1723), whose research focused on the ears.

Meanings

1. A self-administered procedure comprising an attempted exhalation against a closed airway, usually performed by closing one's mouth and pinching one's nose shut while attempting, with moderate force, to expel air.
   • When that time comes, a person may perform the Valsalva manoeuvre, increasing the pressure inside the abdomen by exhaling against a closed airway as if popping one’s ears on a flight. 2018, Alex Blasdel, “Bowel movement: the push to change the way you poo”, in The Guardian:
   • The Valsalva manoeuvre is performed by forced expiration against a closed glottis. It is attributed to Antonio Valsalva (1666–1723), who described it as a test of Eustachian tube patency and as a method of expelling pus from the middle ear. 2019, David Chambers, Christopher Huang, Gareth Matthews, Basic Physiology for Anaesthetists, 2nd edition, Cambridge University Press, page 175:
   • We observed forearm vasodilatation following the Valsalva manoeuvre in 11 out of 19 normal subjects; the remainder showed a persistent forearm vasoconstriction (Bennett et al. 1979b). 1983, Roger Bannister, Autonomic Failure, Oxford University Press, page 426:
   • Variations of the Valsalva manoeuvre can be used during medical examination.

Forms

Synonyms

autoinsufflation

Translations (3)

de Valsalva-Versuch (self-administered medical procedure of attempting to blow against a closed airway) · it manovra di Valsalva (self-administered medical procedure of attempting to blow against a closed airway) · de Valsalva-Manöver (self-administered medical procedure of attempting to blow against a closed airway)