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Glite Dictionary
pectoral vein

pectoral vein

5.6
A small tube that carries blood from chest muscles to a larger vein near the collarbone
  • noun
  • /ˈpɛktərəl veɪn/
  • Specialized
translation icon : vena pectoral
  • The pectoral vein carries blood from the chest muscles.

Examples

  • The pectoral vein plays an important role in draining blood from the chest muscles.

  • Damage to the pectoral vein during surgery can lead to complications.

  • Anatomy students studied the path of the pectoral vein in their dissection class.

  • Surgeons often check the pectoral veins during heart surgery.

  • Anatomy students studied the path of the pectoral vein in their dissection class.

  • Damage to the pectoral vein during surgery can lead to complications.

  • The pectoral vein plays an important role in draining blood from the chest muscles.

Synonyms

vena pectoralis
vspectoral vein
  • Specialized
9.5

A vein that carries blood from a chest muscle into a large vein near the collarbone

denotes one individual vein draining chest muscles into the larger shoulder vein

Surface Forms

pectoral vein singular
pectoral veins plural

Morphology

pectoral + vein

The compound meaning is directly compositional: 'pectoral' (pertaining to the chest) + 'vein' (a blood vessel) clearly yields 'a vein in the chest/pectoral area.' Although it's a technical anatomical term, the constituent meanings and the noun-noun compounding pattern make the overall sense accessible to a B1 learner who knows both words, and similar formations exist cross-linguistically.

Etymology

The noun pectoral vein is a simple name: pectoral means 'chest' and vein means 'a blood vessel'. It names the vein that drains blood from the chest muscles, so today it means 'a vein that carries blood away from the pectoral muscles'.