Phlebotomy has a simple definition and is often explained as a surgical puncture or opening in a vein as a means of introducing fluids or removing blood. The terms early use, however, referred to a procedure known as bloodletting. Although bloodletting is now seen as unhelpful in the least, and potentially harmful, it gave rise to a procedure now implemented in hospitals and clinics all over the world. Phlebotomists today use the procedure to introduce medication intravenously, as well as withdraw blood for diagnostic purposes.
