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accessory hemiazygos vein

accessory hemiazygos vein

9.8
A left chest vein that carries blood from the upper back between the ribs to the azygos vein
  • noun
  • /əˈkɛsəri ˌhɛmɪˈaɪzɪɡəs veɪn/
  • Specialized
translation icon : vena hemiazygos accesoria
  • The doctor explained that the accessory hemiazygos vein drains blood from the posterior intercostal spaces.

Examples

  • The accessory hemiazygos vein is prominent in anatomical illustrations of the thoracic cavity.

  • Surgical procedures near the spine must take care to avoid injuring the accessory hemiazygos vein.

  • The accessory hemiazygos vein drains blood from the left side of the thorax.

  • An accessory hemiazygos vein can be identified during a thoracic surgery.

  • During the examination, the student pointed out the accessory hemiazygos vein in the diagram of the human body.

  • The accessory hemiazygos vein plays a crucial role in connecting the posterior intercostal veins to the azygos vein.

  • Surgeons must be familiar with the location of the accessory hemiazygos vein to avoid complications during the operation.

Synonyms

accessory hemiazygous vein
vsaccessory hemiazygos vein
  • Specialized
9.9

A chest vein that takes blood from upper left rib spaces and drains into the azygos vein

is the same in meaning but differs in spelling of the name
vena hemiazygos accessoria
vsaccessory hemiazygos vein
  • Specialized
9.9

A vein that drains blood from the upper left spaces between ribs into the azygos vein

has identical anatomy but uses the English naming instead

Surface Forms

accessory hemiazygos vein singular
accessory hemiazygos veins plural

Morphology

accessory + hemiazygos + vein

The words 'accessory' (auxiliary) and 'vein' (blood vessel) make the overall sense — an additional/supplementary vein — transparently compositional. However, 'hemiazygos' is specialized anatomical jargon (no dictionary definition provided) and the precise anatomical role and drainage pattern cannot be predicted by a B1 learner, so the expression is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Accessory hemiazygos vein names a smaller, extra vein on the left side of the chest. The word accessory means 'extra', hemi means 'one side', and azygos is the main vein it joins, so imagine a small side road between the ribs that collects blood and joins the big azygos road, which is why the name describes this vein.