vas deferens
1
8.2
- noun
- /væs ˈdɛfərɛnz/
- Specialized
:
conducto deferente
- This method allows the sperm to flow through the vas deferens, bypassing the scar tissue.
- the vas deferens tube
Examples
-
Also, in the image above, note the pathway of the vas deferens from the testicle to the prostate gland.
Blog text (28) -
That's a tantalum clip, which we seal you up with, right at the ends of the vas deferens.
Fiction book (1993) -
An incision will be made in the vas deferens.
Blog text (30) -
He's familiar with the word vas deferens, although he's never really thought about it before.
Fiction book (1993) -
The sartorius, the vas deferens, the symphysis pubis...
Fiction book (1998) -
The vas deferens is the tube that carries sperm; it was severed during your vasectomy.
Blog text (30) -
At the top of the scrotum is the vas deferens, which is the tube carrying sperm from the testes to the penis.
Academic text (2010) -
How good that would feel if he could feel it, so good that when the doctor asks him if he wants to look at the pulled-out loops of his vas deferens, he almost doesn't say no.
Fiction book (1993) -
During a vasectomy, the surgeon will cut the vas deferens to prevent sperm from reaching the semen.
-
The vas deferens serves as the transport channel for sperm from the epididymis to the ejaculatory duct.
Synonyms
1
9.9
A narrow tube in the body that carries liquids like blood or sperm
A tube in the male body that carries sperm from where they are stored to the tube that leads out
A tube that carries sperm from the testicle to the penis
A tube in the male body that carries sperm from the testicle to the urethra
Surface Forms
Morphology
Both constituents are literal anatomical terms referring to a tube and the function of carrying sperm, so a learner who knows those meanings can directly infer the combined sense as the duct that transports sperm. Although the phrase is technical and Latin-derived, its meaning is fully compositional and parallels terms in many languages, making it predictable for learners who know the parts.
Etymology
Vas deferens comes from Latin words that mean 'vessel' and 'carrying away', with vas meaning 'vessel' and deferens meaning 'carrying away'. That image of a tube carrying something away explains the meaning: the vas deferens is the tube that carries sperm from the testicle, so the name now refers to that tube.