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femoral vein

femoral vein

1 4.2
A large blood vessel in the thigh that carries blood back to the heart
  • noun
  • /ˈfɛmərəl veɪn/
  • Specialized
translation icon : vena femoral
  • It's it's like about the size of a pen which goes into one of the veins, commonly the femoral vein down in the groin.
  • femoral vein in the groin

Examples

  • The surgeon accessed the patient's circulation by inserting a catheter into the femoral vein in the thigh.

  • Blood is routed from the large femoral vein in his thigh, bathes the charcoal column so theophylline can be absorbed, and is returned to his body through the same vein.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Central venous access was placed in the right femoral vein using the Seldinger technique.

    Academic text (2007)
  • The femoral vein is an alternative when only one or two dialyses are anticipated (e.g., treatment of poisoning), but should not be used for longer periods because of the risk of infection and the need to immobilize patients in bed.

    Academic text (1995)
  • Emergency responders often use the femoral vein for intravenous access during critical care situations.

  • To monitor blood return from the leg, the doctor examined the femoral vein for any signs of obstruction.

Synonyms

vena femoralis
vsfemoral vein
  • Specialized
7.8

A vein in the thigh that carries blood from the leg

has the same anatomical meaning but uses a different term form

Surface Forms

femoral vein singular
femoral veins plural

Morphology

femoral + vein

This is a straightforward adjective + noun composition: 'femoral' specifies the thigh region and 'vein' names a blood vessel, so the phrase literally denotes the vein in the thigh. The construction is regular and cross-linguistically common, meaning a B1 learner who knows both constituents can readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Femoral vein is the name for the large vein in the thigh, and femoral basically means 'of the thigh'. Picture a wide blood road running up the leg next to the femoral artery—this image helps you remember it 'carries blood back' toward the heart.