venous sinus
- noun
- /ˈviːnəs ˈsaɪnəs/
- Specialized
- During the surgery, the surgeon carefully navigated around the venous sinuses to avoid complications.
Examples
-
An imaging test can reveal any abnormalities in the venous sinuses of the brain.
-
Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) is generally not considered in these cases.
Academic text (1996) -
Care is also taken not to injure the endolymphatic sac, the venous sinuses, or the vessels within the cerebellopontine angle.
Academic text (1996) -
Normal enhancement of the cortical veins and venous sinuses was visualized on MRV.
Academic text (2007) -
The doctor explained that a blockage in the venous sinus could lead to increased pressure in the brain.
Synonyms
A wide channel in the body that holds blood instead of a normal vessel
Surface Forms
Morphology
The term is directly compositional: 'venous' means related to veins and 'sinus' denotes a vascular channel, so 'venous sinus' straightforwardly denotes a vein-related blood channel. Although it is a technical medical phrase, the meaning follows standard noun-modifier composition and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.
Etymology
Venous sinus comes from the parts venous meaning 'relating to a vein' and sinus meaning 'bay' or 'fold'. It paints a simple image: a wide, bay-like channel that holds blood instead of a thin tube, so the name describes a large blood-filled space that helps 'drain' blood from the brain.