Marking

Marking is a term used in various fields, including medicine, to denote the process of identifying or labeling something. In the medical context, marking is often used to indicate the location of a specific anatomical structure or the boundary of a surgical site.

Medical Marking

In surgery, marking is a critical step to ensure the correct site is operated on. This is often done with a skin marking pen, which uses a special type of ink that is safe for use on the skin. The mark is usually made by the surgeon who will be performing the operation, and is done after the patient has been properly identified and the surgical site has been confirmed.

Marking is also used in radiology to indicate the location of a specific structure or area of interest on an image. This can be done manually by the radiologist, or automatically by the imaging software.

In pathology, marking can refer to the process of labeling a specimen with a unique identifier. This is done to ensure the specimen can be accurately tracked and associated with the correct patient.

Safety and Regulations

The Joint Commission, an organization that accredits healthcare organizations in the United States, has specific standards for surgical site marking. According to these standards, the mark must be made in a way that is unambiguous and can be seen after the patient has been prepped for surgery.

In addition, the World Health Organization has guidelines for safe surgery that include recommendations for surgical site marking. These guidelines are intended to reduce the risk of wrong-site surgery, a serious surgical error.

See Also

• Surgical safety checklist
• Patient identification
• Medical error

Marking Resources
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