cerebral vein
- noun
- /ˈsɛrəbrəl veɪn/
- Specialized
- The doctor explained that a blockage in a cerebral vein could lead to a stroke.
Examples
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Imaging studies revealed a clot in his left cerebral vein.
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During surgery, the surgeon carefully avoided damaging the major cerebral veins.
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The cerebral vein carries blood away from the brain.
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Many cerebral veins are essential for brain function.
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Imaging studies revealed a clot in his left cerebral vein.
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The doctor explained that a blockage in a cerebral vein could lead to a stroke.
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During surgery, the surgeon carefully avoided damaging the major cerebral veins.
Synonyms
A vein that carries blood away from the outer parts of the brain
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning (‘a vein that drains blood from the brain’) is directly derivable from combining 'cerebral' (relating to the brain) with 'vein' (a blood vessel); a learner who knows both constituents will infer it denotes a vein in the brain. This is a straightforward compound noun following regular compositional patterns (and has clear parallels in other languages), so despite being technical it is immediately understandable to someone who knows the component words.
Etymology
Cerebral vein is a medical term made of cerebral, meaning 'of the brain', and vein, a blood vessel that carries blood back to the heart. Imagine the brain as a busy town and the veins as small rivers carrying used blood away, so the term means 'veins that drain blood from the brain'.