| 摘要 |
A catheter assembly having a selectively occluded and vented lumen is provided. The catheter includes an obturator for preventing the back flow of fluid from the distal tip of the catheter into a balloon provided on the body of the catheter. The catheter has at least one groove for venting the balloon during the process of inserting the catheter assembly into fluid under pressure. The combination of the obturator and the venting groove prohibits premature inflation of the balloon by pressurized fluid entering the distal end of the catheter and also enables for the venting of any air entrapped inside the balloon prior to inflation thereof. When incorporated into a retrograde cardioplegia solution catheter, this structure dramatically reduces the force needed to insert the catheter assembly into the coronary sinus and also reduces trauma to the tissue of the coronary sinus during the insertion process.
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