Okuzeka
Veterinary Medicine vocabulary · Surgery and Anaesthesia

Fasting

Meaning in veterinary medicine, with examples

/ˈfɑːstɪŋ/nounCore term

In veterinary medicine, fasting means: Withholding food from an animal for a set time, for example before anaesthesia, so that the stomach is empty and the risk of vomiting and inhaling food is lower.

In Turkish: aç bırakma, açlık

How it is used

Clinics give owners fasting instructions before surgery, such as no food after a certain time the night before. Vets say the animal has been fasted, or in informal UK English starved. Water is usually allowed, and very young animals and rabbits are not fasted in the usual way.

Example sentences

  1. The fasting instructions say no food after 10 p.m. the night before surgery.

  2. Fasting before surgery lowers the risk of regurgitation during anaesthesia.

Common collocations

  • fasting instructions
  • pre-operative fasting
  • overnight fasting
  • fasting period
  • anaesthesiaA controlled state, produced with drugs, in which an animal feels no pain and is usually unconscious, so that surgery or other procedures can be done safely.
  • premedicationDrugs given before a general anaesthetic to calm the animal, reduce pain and lower the amount of anaesthetic needed. Usually shortened to premed.
  • consent formA document an owner signs to agree to a procedure such as surgery or anaesthesia after the risks, costs and alternatives have been explained.
  • vomitingForcefully bringing up the contents of the stomach through the mouth. The technical word is emesis.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Surgery and Anaesthesia

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level:

This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.