perfuse

P3E1R1F4U1S1E1
/pəɹˈfjuːz/

verb

To permeate or suffuse something, especially with a liquid or with light.

Similar
Scrabble 12

Meanings

verbperfuse (third-person singular simple present perfuses, present participle perfusing, simple past and past participle perfused)

present singular third person perfuses · participle present perfusing · participle past perfused · past perfused

  1. transitiveTo permeate or suffuse something, especially with a liquid or with light.

    As a patient has decreased ability to perfuse tissue, conversion of glucose into carbon dioxide and energy in the cellular level is also decreased.

    2010, Andrew J. Rosenfeld, Sharon M. Dial, Clinical Pathology for the Veterinary Team, Wiley (Wiley-Blackwell), page 191
    2 more examples

    Tissues can be broadly classified as poorly-perfused, adequately perfused and well-perfused on this basis as shown in Table 2.1. Note how organs with a relatively small mass, such as the heart and brain, only require a modest blood flow to perfuse them well.

    2001, Neena Washington, Clive Washington, Clive Wilson, Physiological Pharmaceutics: Barriers to Drug Absorption, 2nd edition, Taylor & Francis, page 30

    The right coronary artery system perfused the inferior and infero-septal regions in 89% of the patients, identified with a right dominant system. The anterolateral papillary muscle was perfused from the left coronary system in all cases.

    1989, Klaus Berwing, Martin Schlepper, Peter Kremer, Hassan Bahavar, “Clinical trials with a new myocardial contrast agent”, in Samuel Meerbaum, Richard S. Meltzer, editors, Myocardial Contrast Two-dimensional Echocardiography, Kluwer Academic, page 165
  2. transitiveTo force a fluid to flow over or through something, especially through an organ of the body.

    When AVP was perfused into punctate regions in the brain of the sheep or rabbit, the pyrogen-induced fever was suppressed.

    1985, William de Ruhe et al., “14: Release of Arginine Vasopressin from the Brain”, in Alejandro Bayón, René Drucker-Colín, editors, In VIVO Perfusion and Release of Neroactive substances: Methods and Strategies, Academic Press, page 240
    2 more examples

    2001, Alan B. R. Thomson, Gary Wild, Lipid Absorption and the Unstirred layers, Charles M. Mansbach II, Patrick Tso, Arnis Kuksis (editors), Intestinal Lipid Metabolism, Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers, page 140, The change in the ratio of the uptake of xylose and urea could not be explained just by an alteration in UWL resistance or by a change in the laminar flow properties of the perfused fluid.

    To test which solution was optimal for tissue survival, they perfused these solutions through the vasculature of canine thyroid glands, by using an apparatus with a silicone rubber oxygenator (Fig. 1.3).

    2009, Domenico Ribatti, History of Research on Tumor Angiogenesis, Springer, page 5

Synonyms & antonyms

verbcause to spread or flush or flood through, over, or across

Similar
Broader

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*per-
  2. Proto-Italic*peri-
  3. Latinper-
  4. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰew-
  5. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰewd-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰunédti
  7. Proto-Italic*hundō
  8. Latinfundō
  9. Latinperfundō
  10. Latinperfūsus
  11. Englishperfuse

From 1520s, from Latin perfusus, past participle of perfundo (“to pour over, besprinkle”) from per- + fundo (“to pour”) (from nasalised form of PIE root *gheu- ("to pour")); compare diffuse, suffuse.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian обливам
  • обливам (oblivam)to permeate or suffuse
Czech proplachovat, prolévat
  • proplachovatto permeate or suffuse
  • prolévatto permeate or suffuse
  • prosvítatto permeate or suffuse
  • proplachovatto force a fluid through an organ
  • prokrvovatto force a fluid through an organ
  • perfundovatto force a fluid through an organ
  • prolévatto force a fluid through an organ
Finnish virrata läpi
  • virrata läpito permeate or suffuse
German durchströmen, perfundieren
  • durchströmento permeate or suffuse
  • perfundierento permeate or suffuse

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with perfuse

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Cite this entry
APA

perfuse. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/perfuse

MLA

“perfuse.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/perfuse. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “perfuse,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/perfuse.

Source: perfuse on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.