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vena cutanea

vena cutanea

9.8
A small vein under the skin that drains into deeper veins
  • noun
  • /ˈviːnə kjuːˈteɪniə/
  • Specialized
translation icon : vena cutánea
  • Several venae cutaneae converge to empty into deeper veins in the leg.

Examples

  • The surgeon carefully avoided the vena cutanea during the procedure.

  • Damage to a vena cutanea can cause severe bruising under the skin.

  • The vena cutanea plays a crucial role in venous drainage.

  • What is the function of the vena cutanea?

  • The surgeon carefully avoided the vena cutanea during the procedure.

  • Damage to a vena cutanea can cause severe bruising under the skin.

  • Several venae cutaneae converge to empty into deeper veins in the leg.

Synonyms

cutaneous vein
vsvena cutanea
  • Specialized
7.2

A small tube under the skin that carries blood to deeper veins

is the same meaning but uses a different scientific label

Surface Forms

vena cutanea singular
vena cutaneas plural

Morphology

vena + cutanea

The meaning is directly compositional: 'vena' = vein and 'cutanea' (cutaneous) = relating to the skin, so 'vena cutanea' straightforwardly denotes a vein in the skin/subcutaneous tissue. Although 'cutanea' is a medical/Latin form rather than everyday English, cognates like 'cutaneous' (and similar forms in other languages) make the skin-related sense predictable to learners who know the constituents.

Etymology

Vena cutanea comes from the Latin words vena and cutanea, meaning 'vein' and 'skin'. So vena cutanea is literally a small 'skin vein' just under the skin that flows into deeper veins, which is why damage to it can cause bruising.