Informal medical usage in which ‘exploratory’ functions as a countable noun meaning a diagnostic surgical procedure.
Definitionen
A surgical or diagnostic procedure carried out to investigate internal organs. The biopsy was inconclusive, so the doctors scheduled an exploratory.
A preliminary investigation, survey, or expedition undertaken to explore or gather information. The research team embarked on an exploratory to chart the unmapped desert.
Synonyme
fact-finding mission
scouting mission