Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
circle of Willis

circle of Willis

1 6.9
A ring of blood vessels at the base of the brain that carries blood to the brain and nearby parts
  • noun
  • /ˈsɜr.kəl əv ˈwɪl.ɪs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : círculo de Willis
  • During the surgery, we carefully mapped the circle of Willis to avoid any complications.

Examples

  • Tree of Sephiroth and/or Circle of Willis.

    Blog text (30)

  • MRA of the circle of Willis was normal.

    Academic text (2007)

  • The doctor explained how the circle of Willis helps supply blood to the brain.

  • An aneurysm can be particularly dangerous if it occurs in the circle of Willis.

Surface Forms

circle of Willis singular
circles of Willis plural

Morphology

circle + of + Willis

This is an eponymic anatomical term named after a person (Thomas Willis); knowing 'circle' and 'of' does not tell a learner that it refers to a specific ring of arteries at the base of the brain, and 'Willis' carries no semantic cue. The medical and anatomical specifics are not predictable from the constituents, so a B1 learner who knows the words would not be able to derive the meaning.

Etymology

Circle of Willis is named after the doctor Thomas Willis and describes a real circle of arteries at the base of the brain. Think of it like a round road that gives traffic another way when one road is blocked, so the artery circle helps keep 'blood' flowing to the brain if one artery is blocked.