Standard Lemma guide

percutaneous

adj · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /pɜːkjuːˈteɪnɪəs/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -eɪnɪəs
  • CMU ARPABET: P ER0 K Y UW0 T EY1 N IY0 AH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Taking place through the skin and involving a puncture thereof.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Topics: medicine, sciences, surgery

Examples

  • percutaneous procedure
  • percutaneous intervention
  • percutaneous catheter
  • The doctor performed a percutaneous biopsy.
  • Percutaneous methods reduce the need for open surgery.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adjective

Meaning 2

through the unbroken skin; refers to medications applied directly to the skin (creams or ointments) or in time-release forms (skin patches)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • transdermal estrogen
  • percutaneous absorption

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: transdermal, transdermic, transcutaneous

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per- Proto-Italic *per Latin perbor. Proto-Indo-European *per-der. Proto-Italic *peri- Latin per-bor. English per- English cutaneous English percutaneous From per- + cutaneous.

Across languages

Translations

12 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: подкожен (podkožen) — taking place through the skin
  • Czech: perkutánní — taking place through the skin
  • Dutch: percutaan — taking place through the skin
  • Finnish: perkutaaninen — taking place through the skin
  • French: percutané — taking place through the skin
  • German: perkutan — taking place through the skin
  • Hungarian: perkután — taking place through the skin
  • Icelandic: um húð — taking place through the skin
  • Icelandic: gegnum húð — taking place through the skin
  • Italian: percutaneo — taking place through the skin
  • Spanish: percutáneo — taking place through the skin
  • Swedish: perkutan — taking place through the skin