dorsal scapular vein

8.3

A vein beside the descending scapular artery in the shoulder that drains into the subclavian or external jugular vein

noun
/ˈdɔrsəl ˈskæpjʊlər veɪn/

Specialized

: vena escapular dorsal

The dorsal scapular vein drains into the subclavian vein near the base of the neck.

Examples

The dorsal scapular vein runs parallel to the descending scapular artery in the shoulder region.
During surgery, care must be taken not to damage the dorsal scapular vein.
The dorsal scapular vein runs alongside the artery.
Surgeons must identify the dorsal scapular vein during procedures.
The dorsal scapular vein drains blood from the shoulder area into the subclavian vein.
During the operation, the surgeon carefully avoided the dorsal scapular vein to prevent excessive bleeding.
Anatomy students learned that the dorsal scapular vein accompanies the descending scapular artery.

Synonyms

vena scapularis dorsalis

vsdorsal scapular vein

Specialized

9.9

A shoulder vein that carries blood from muscles near the shoulder blade into a larger neck vein

has identical meaning but uses the English form instead

Surface Forms

dorsal scapular vein singular

dorsal scapular veins plural

Morphology

dorsal + scapular + vein

The compound is fully compositional: 'dorsal' (back) + 'scapular' (of the shoulder blade) + 'vein' (blood vessel) yields a vein located at the back near the scapula. This follows standard noun-compounding in medical terminology and is cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows the three constituents will understand the general meaning even if they lack detailed anatomical knowledge.

Etymology

Dorsal scapular vein is a medical name that shows where it is: dorsal means 'back', scapular means 'shoulder blade', and vein is a blood vessel. It runs along the back of the shoulder blade and carries blood to larger veins, so the name helps you remember both its place and job.