A device placed around a limb to compress blood vessels. A tourniquet may be used to help locate a vein for an intravenous injection or for the withdrawal of blood. An inflatable tourniquet, called an Esmarch’s bandage, is used to control blood flow in some limb operations. The use of a tourniquet as a first-aid measure to stop severe bleeding can cause gangrene.
A device – usually a rubber cord or tight bandage – that is bound around a limb to stop temporarily the arterial blood supply and so control severe bleeding. Tourniquets should be applied with caution; unless untied within 15 minutes, GANGRENE may result, necessitating AMPUTATION. Because of this serious hazard, they are rarely used nowadays; direct pressure on the bleeding points is simpler, safer and equally e?ective in emergencies. A temporary tourniquet to an arm to increase the distension of veins when taking a sample of blood does no harm.
A very tight ligature applied over the proximal portion of an extremity (limb) to occlude the artery to prevent blood reaching the distal part of the limb. Useful for severe, uncontrolled arterial bleeding, but dangerous when used for envenomation.
n. a device to press upon an artery and prevent flow of blood through it, usually a cord, rubber tube, or tight bandage bound around a limb. Tourniquets are no longer recommended as a first-aid measure to stop bleeding from a wound because of the danger of reducing the supply of oxygen to other tissues (direct pressure on the wound itself is considered less harmful). However, a temporary tourniquet to increase the distension of veins when a sample of blood is being taken does no harm.
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