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superior thyroid vein

superior thyroid vein

5.5
A neck vein that carries blood from the top of the thyroid gland into a large neck vein
  • noun
  • /suːˈpɪəriər θaɪrɔɪd veɪn/
  • Specialized
translation icon : vena tiroidea superior
  • The superior thyroid vein drains blood from the upper part of the thyroid gland directly into the internal jugular vein.

Examples

  • During the surgery, the surgeon carefully identified and tied off the superior thyroid vein to prevent bleeding.

  • The superior thyroid vein drains blood from the upper part of the thyroid gland directly into the internal jugular vein.

  • Anatomical diagrams often label the superior thyroid vein as an important structure in thyroid surgery.

  • The superior thyroid vein drains blood from the thyroid gland.

  • Anatomists study the superior thyroid vein in detail.

  • Anatomical diagrams often label the superior thyroid vein as an important structure in thyroid surgery.

  • During the surgery, the surgeon carefully identified and tied off the superior thyroid vein to prevent bleeding.

Surface Forms

Morphology

superior + thyroid + vein

The phrase is fully compositional: 'superior' (upper) + 'thyroid' (gland in the neck) + 'vein' (blood vessel) yields the meaning of a vein associated with the upper part of the thyroid that drains blood. Anatomical naming conventions are regular across languages, so a learner who knows the constituent words can readily infer this MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Superior thyroid vein comes from its parts: superior means the 'upper' part, thyroid is the gland at the front of the neck, and vein is a vessel that 'drains' blood. So the name points to the vein that carries blood away from the upper part of the thyroid into a larger vein in the neck.