kasai
kasai Lexical Profile
• noun
A major river in Central Africa that originates in central Angola and flows north to join the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
"The Kasai River is a vital waterway for transport and trade in the Congo Basin."
A geographical region and administrative province in the south-central Democratic Republic of the Congo, historically known for its extensive diamond mining.
"Conflict in the Kasai region has displaced thousands of residents over the past decade."
A surgical procedure (hepatoportoenterostomy) performed on infants with biliary atresia to bypass damaged bile ducts and restore bile flow from the liver to the intestine.
"The pediatric surgeon performed a Kasai procedure to prevent further liver damage in the newborn."
• Rhymes for kasai
Word Origin & Etymology
As a geographic term, it derives from the local Bantu name for the river and region in Central Africa. In medicine, the Kasai procedure is an eponym named after Morio Kasai, the Japanese pediatric surgeon who developed the technique in the 1950s.