perfuse

[ per-fyooz ]

verb (used with object)

, per·fused, per·fus·ing.

1. to overspread with moisture, color, etc.; suffuse.
2. to diffuse (a liquid, color, etc.) through or over something.
3. Surgery. to pass (fluid) through blood vessels or the lymphatic system.

perfuse

/ pəˈfjuːz /

verb

1. to suffuse or permeate (a liquid, colour, etc) through or over (something)
2. surgery to pass (a fluid) through organ tissue to ensure adequate exchange of oxygen and carbon monoxide

Derived Forms

• perˈfusion, noun
• perˈfusionist, noun
• perˈfusive, adjective
• perˈfused, adjective

Other Words From

• per·fu·sive [per-, fyoo, -siv], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of perfuse¹

1520–30; < Latin perfūsus, past participle of perfundere to drench, flood. See per-, fuse ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of perfuse¹

C16: from Latin perfūsus wetted, from perfundere to pour over, from per- + fundere to pour

Example Sentences

Food and Drug Administration and made by the company XVIVO, to perfuse and monitor donor lungs.

From Scientific American

“And then you can start to have organ damage where your kidneys don’t work, your spleen, your liver. If things get really bad, then you start to not be perfusing your brain the same way.”

From Seattle Times

On Valentine’s Day 2022, he became the first person in the world known to receive a heart, liver, and kidney from a donor whose organs were perfused after circulatory death.

From Science Magazine

“We can do surgery on fish out of the water as long as you have their gills getting perfused with water,” she said.

From New York Times

Immune rejection aside, pig hearts transplanted into baboons seem to sputter out in a matter of days unless they’re perfused with a nutrient solution before the transplant, Mohiuddin says.

From Science Magazine