artery of the labyrinth
- noun
- Specialized
- The artery of the labyrinth is essential for providing oxygenated blood to the cochlea and vestibular apparatus.
Examples
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Damage to the artery of the labyrinth can result in sudden hearing loss or vertigo.
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During surgery near the brainstem, doctors take care to avoid injuring the artery of the labyrinth.
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The artery of the labyrinth is essential for hearing.
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The arteries of the labyrinth supply blood to the inner ear.
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Damage to the artery of the labyrinth can result in sudden hearing loss or vertigo.
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During surgery near the brainstem, doctors take care to avoid injuring the artery of the labyrinth.
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The artery of the labyrinth is essential for providing oxygenated blood to the cochlea and vestibular apparatus.
Synonyms
A small blood vessel that brings blood to the inner ear
A blood vessel that carries blood to the inner ear
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is a straightforward possessive/compositional phrase: an 'artery' associated with the 'labyrinth' (the inner-ear structures). Given knowledge of 'artery' and 'labyrinth' and the function words 'of/the', a B1 learner can directly infer it denotes the artery serving the labyrinth; although technical, the semantics are fully compositional and cross-linguistically transparent.
Etymology
Artery of the labyrinth comes from the idea of the inner ear as a tiny 'maze'. The word labyrinth means 'maze' and the artery is the small blood vessel that goes into that maze to bring blood to the 'inner ear', so the name means the blood vessel for that part of the ear.