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Glite Dictionary
hemizygos vein

hemizygos vein

8.8
A left-side blood vessel that crosses near the eighth spine bone and joins a back vein
  • noun
  • /ˌhɛmɪˈzaɪɡəs veɪn/
  • Specialized
translation icon : vena hemizygos
  • The hemizygos vein crosses the midline of the body at the eighth thoracic vertebra.

Examples

  • Radiologists observed an enlargement of the hemizygos vein in the patient's CT scan.

  • During surgery, the hemizygos vein can be identified as it joins the azygos vein.

  • The hemizygos vein plays a crucial role in venous drainage.

  • Can you locate the hemizygos vein on this diagram?

  • During surgery, the hemizygos vein can be clearly identified as it joins the azygos vein.

  • Radiologists noted an enlargement of the hemizygos vein in the patient's CT scan.

  • The hemizygos vein crosses the midline of the body at the level of the eighth thoracic vertebra.

Synonyms

hemizygous vein
vshemizygos vein
  • Specialized
9.6

A blood vessel running up the left side of the spine to join a large chest vein

is the same in meaning but is a variant form of the name
vena hemizygos
vshemizygos vein
  • Specialized
9.9

A vein on the left side of the spine that joins the azygos vein at the eighth chest vertebra

is described more generally as crossing near the eighth vertebra rather than exact

Surface Forms

hemizygos vein singular
hemizygos veins plural

Morphology

hemizygos + vein

The element 'hemizygos' is not a familiar English word and is not listed in the provided dictionary entry, so a B1 learner who only knows the common word 'vein' would not be able to infer the specific anatomical meaning. Even if one recognized Greek roots like hemi-/azygos, the detailed left‑side drainage and positional information are technical and not predictable from the surface forms, making the expression unintelligible without prior exposure or specialist knowledge.

Etymology

Hemizygos vein comes from word parts that mean 'half' (hemi-) and 'pair' (zygos), so the name pictures a single vein on one side of the spine. That's why hemizygos vein refers to the vein that runs up the left side and then crosses to join the big azygos vein.