The technique described in this thesis will be referred to as "epicardial echocardiography".
The addition "intraoperative" is unnecessary, since "epicardial" presumes
operative access to the heart. If the transducer is applied to the aorta or other
great vessels after a median sternotomy, it would be more correctly to refer to the
technique as "epivascular echography". However, for simplicity, this term will
only be used if the transducer is applied to the descending thoracic and abdominal
aorta after lateral thoracotomy or thoraco-abdominal incisions.
The technique where the transducer is introduced into the esophagus during the
operation will be referred to as "intraoperative esophageal echocardiography".4
The traditional approach of echocardiography, by placing the transducer upon the
chest, will be referred to as "precordial" or "transthoracic echocardiography"