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anastomosis

[uh-nas-tuh-moh-sis]
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noun, plural a·nas·to·mo·ses [uh-nas-tuh-moh-seez] /əˌnæs təˈmoʊ siz/.
  1. Anatomy. communication between blood vessels by means of collateral channels, especially when usual routes are obstructed.
  2. Biology, Geology. connection between parts of any branching system, as veinlets in a leaf or branches of a stream.
  3. Surgery, Pathology. a joining of or opening between two organs or spaces that normally are not connected.
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Origin of anastomosis

1605–15; < New Latin < Greek: opening. See ana-, stoma, -osis
Related formsa·nas·to·mot·ic [uh-nas-tuh-mot-ik] /əˌnæs təˈmɒt ɪk/, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for anastomosis

Historical Examples

  • Anastomosing, forming a net-work (anastomosis), as the veins of leaves, 50.

    The Elements of Botany

    Asa Gray

  • Where the anastomosis is less free the process is more prolonged.

    Manual of Surgery

    Alexis Thomson and Alexander Miles

  • In such cases the anastomosis between branches of the coronary arteries is unusually free.

    Arteriosclerosis and Hypertension:

    Louis Marshall Warfield

  • By means of anastomosis, if the course of a fluid is arrested in one vessel it can proceed along others.

  • It is by anastomosis that circulation is re-established in amputated limbs, and in aneurism when the vessel is tied.

British Dictionary definitions for anastomosis

anastomosis

noun plural -ses (-siːz)
  1. a natural connection between two tubular structures, such as blood vessels
  2. the surgical union of two hollow organs or parts that are normally separate
  3. the separation and rejoining in a reticulate pattern of the veins of a leaf or of branches
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Derived Formsanastomotic (əˌnæstəˈmɒtɪk), adjective

Word Origin

C16: via New Latin from Greek: opening, from anastomoun to equip with a mouth, from stoma mouth
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for anastomosis

n.

1610s, medical or Modern Latin, from Greek anastomosis "outlet, opening," from anastomoein "to furnish with a mouth," from stoma "mouth" (see stoma). Related: Anastomotic.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
anastomosis in Medicine

anastomosis

(ə-năs′tə-mō′sĭs)
n. pl. a•nas•to•mo•ses (-sēz)
  1. The direct or indirect connection of separate parts of a branching system to form a network, especially among blood vessels.
  2. The surgical connection of separate or severed tubular hollow organs to form a continuous channel as between two parts of the intestine.
  3. An opening created by surgery, trauma, or disease between two or more normally separate spaces or organs.
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Related formsa•nas′to•mot′ic (-mŏt′ĭk) adj.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.