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Glite Dictionary
middle cerebral artery

middle cerebral artery

1 7.6
A large artery in the brain that gives blood to much of the outer brain
  • noun
  • /ˈmɪdəl ˈsɪrəbrəl ˈɑːrteri/
  • Specialized
translation icon : arteria cerebral media
  • Doctors monitored the blood flow in the middle cerebral artery during the surgery.

Examples

  • A blockage in the middle cerebral artery can lead to significant neurological deficits.

  • The fetus also had signs of a brain-sparing effect shown by a reduced pulsatility index of the middle cerebral artery.

    Academic text (1991)

  • The middle cerebral artery supplies oxygen-rich blood to important regions of the brain responsible for movement and sensation.

Surface Forms

middle cerebral artery singular
middle cerebral arteries plural

Morphology

middle + cerebral + artery

The meaning is directly derivable from its parts: 'artery' (a blood vessel) + 'cerebral' (related to the brain) + 'middle' (a positional descriptor), so a learner who knows the constituent words can infer it is an artery located in the middle region of the brain. Although medical/technical, the composition follows a straightforward noun-modifier pattern common across languages, making the sense transparent.

Etymology

Middle cerebral artery shows a clear picture: middle = in the centre, cerebral = of the brain, and artery = a large vessel that carries 'blood', so imagine a main road bringing blood to large parts of the brain. That's why a blockage of the middle cerebral artery can cause serious problems like a stroke.