vena cava

noun

vena cava

noun

UK /ˌviːnə ˈkeɪvə/

Etymology Literally "hollow vein."

Anatomy, Medicine, Sciences Either of the two large veins that take oxygen depleted blood, from the upper body and from the lower body, and return it to the right atrium of the heart.

Derived terms: vena caval, inferior vena cava, superior vena cava

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.