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spinal vein

spinal vein

6.4
A vein that carries blood away from the spinal cord
  • noun
  • /ˈspaɪnəl veɪn/
  • Specialized
translation icon : vena espinal
  • The spinal vein plays a critical role in draining blood from the spinal cord.

Examples

  • The spinal vein carries blood from the spinal cord.

  • The surgeon carefully avoided the major spinal veins during the operation.

  • Damage to a spinal vein can lead to serious neurological complications.

  • Many spinal veins are affected during surgery.

  • The spinal vein plays a critical role in draining blood from the spinal cord.

  • Damage to a spinal vein can lead to serious neurological complications.

  • The surgeon carefully avoided the major spinal veins during the operation.

Synonyms

vena spinalis
vsspinal vein
  • Specialized
9.9

A vein that carries blood away from the spinal cord

is one vein that drains blood from the spinal cord rather than many

Surface Forms

spinal vein singular
spinal veins plural

Morphology

spinal + vein

The meaning 'a vein that drains blood from the spinal cord' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'spinal' (relating to the spinal cord) with 'vein' (a blood vessel). This is a straightforward adjectival modifier + noun compound following normal compositional patterns found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily understand it.

Etymology

The noun spinal vein comes from the simple picture of a thin blood vessel running along the spine, where the part spinal means the spine and vein means a blood vessel. Because these veins carry blood away from the spinal cord, the name helps you remember it 'drains blood from the spinal cord'.