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Glite Dictionary
innominate artery

innominate artery

9.9
Large blood vessel from the heart that supplies the right side of the head, neck, and arm
  • noun
  • /ɪˈnɒmɪnɪt ˈɑːrtəri/
  • Specialized
translation icon : arteria innominada
  • Doctors monitored the blood flow through the innominate artery to ensure it was functioning properly.

Examples

  • The most serious is an innominate artery fistula, which is associated with an 80 to 90% mortality rate.

    Academic text (2006)

  • The surgeon repaired the damaged innominate artery during the complex heart surgery.

  • An obstruction in the innominate artery can lead to serious complications in patients.

Synonyms

innominata
vsinnominate artery
  • Archaic
9.9

A large artery from the heart that supplies the right arm and head

is the modern term for that same artery

How Technical

innominate artery
  • Specialized
9.9
brachiocephalic
  • Specialized
1 8.9
artery
  • Specialized
195 2.7

Surface Forms

innominate artery singular
innominate arteries plural

Morphology

innominate + artery

The compound is compositionally transparent in that 'innominate' (unnamed) plus 'artery' (blood vessel) yields the literal sense of a particular artery; a learner who knows both words would understand it as a type/kind of artery. However, the specific anatomical referent, its origin from the aortic arch and its branching pattern are specialized medical knowledge not inferable from the constituents alone, so full comprehension requires domain knowledge.

Etymology

Innominate artery comes from old Latin and literally means 'not named'. Doctors used this name because the large artery divides to send blood to both the head and the arm, so it did not have a single simple name, and that 'no-name' idea helps you remember its job.