An arterial line (also art-line or a-line) is a thin catheter inserted into an artery. It is most commonly used in intensive care medicine and anesthesia to monitor blood pressure directly and in real-time (rather than by intermittent and indirect measurement) and to obtain samples for arterial blood gas analysis. The use of arterial catheterization is justified in anaesthesiology and reanimation because of the essential advantages of being able to monitor blood pressure invasively and to easily perform blood tests. However, this technique has complications, some of which, like ischemia, are serious, although exceptional.
