vena basilica
- noun
- /ˈviːnə bəˈsɪlɪkə/
- Specialized
:
vena basilica
- In anatomy class, we learned how the vena basilica drains blood from the forearm.
Examples
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The nurse located the vena basilica for the intravenous injection.
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An injury to the vena basilica can cause significant bleeding.
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The vena basilica is essential for blood drainage.
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During the procedure, the doctor examined the vena basilica carefully.
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The nurse located the vena basilica for the intravenous injection.
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In anatomy class, we learned how the vena basilica drains blood from the forearm.
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An injury to the vena basilica can cause significant bleeding.
Synonyms
1
6.7
A vein near the skin on the inner side of the arm that takes blood from the hand and forearm
Surface Forms
Morphology
vena + basilica
This is a specialised Latin anatomical name: knowing 'vena' only signals it is a vein, while 'basilica' is not semantically transparent in everyday English and does not indicate the specific location or function. The precise meaning (a particular large vein draining the back of the hand and forearm) is technical and not predictable from the parts, so an average B1 learner would not infer it without prior exposure or anatomical knowledge.
Etymology
Vena basilica comes from old words: vena means 'vein' and basilica may come from a word meaning 'royal'. One popular story says doctors called this large, important arm vein 'royal' because it is big and was often used for taking blood, so the name helps you remember it is the large vein that drains blood from the forearm into the upper arm.