The term "trocar" was apparently first used in 1706 as a proper British corruption of the French "trois-quarts", a three-faceted instrument consisting of a perforator in a tube, or cannula, used for withdrawing fluid from a bodily cavity. By the end of the century, most cannulae had a circular shield at the handle end and a prismatic point. Mostly used in dropsy, or hydrocele, applications also were illustrated for draining ovarian cysts and the nasal cavity.