vena cava

[ vee-nuh-key-vuh ]

/ ˈvi nə ˈkeɪ və /

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noun, plural ve·nae ca·vae

[vee-nee key-vee]. /ˈvi ni ˈkeɪ vi/. Anatomy.

either of two large veins discharging blood into the right atrium of the heart, one (superior vena cava, or precava ) conveying blood from the head, chest, and upper extremities and the other (inferior vena cava or postcava ) conveying blood from all parts below the diaphragm.

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Origin of vena cava

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin vēna cava, literally “hollow vein”

Words nearby vena cava

velvet shank, velvet stout, velvety, ven-, vena, vena cava, vena contracta, venal, venality, venatic, venation

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use vena cava in a sentence

In 1972, I was assigned by a magazine to write a story on Cava.
What Women Drink|Sophie Menin|August 22, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Also on my “must” list: BLT Steak, DC Coast, Oval Room and Cava.
Fresh Picks|Robert Irvine|January 13, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Like the French Crémants, Cava is made using the traditional Champagne method.
Beyond Champagne|Sophie Menin|December 29, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Maccabeo provides Cava with its body; Xarel-lo lends notes of earth; and Parellada imparts a touch of ripe apples.
Beyond Champagne|Sophie Menin|December 29, 2010|DAILY BEAST

Try drinking it via a porrón, a glass pitcher traditionally used with the Spanish sparkler cava.
Holiday Wine Secrets|Mark Oldman|December 21, 2010|DAILY BEAST
By this passage it is taken into the right auricle, along with the impure blood of the vena cava.
The Matron's Manual of Midwifery, and the Diseases of Women During Pregnancy and in Childbed|Frederick Hollick
Ante et post eam purus sanguis ita acriter ex dura terra effluxit, ut ex vena incisa.
History of the Great Reformation, Volume IV|J. H. Merle D'Aubign
Repairing next to Vena, he that offers oblations of water to the gods and the Pitris, obtains a car drawn by peacocks and cranes.
Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Bk. 3 Pt. 1|Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa
It is found in Egypt, and lives in the vena port and in all its ramifications in man.
Animal Parasites and Messmates|P. J. Van Beneden
From its metallic appearance and toughness, this bed is called vena ferrata, the iron vein.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines|Andrew Ure

British Dictionary definitions for vena cava

vena cava

/ (ˈkeɪvə) /

noun plural venae cavae (ˈkeɪviː)

either one of the two large veins that convey oxygen-depleted blood to the heart

Word Origin for vena cava

Latin: hollow vein

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

Scientific definitions for vena cava

vena cava

[ vē′nə kā′və ]

Plural venae cavae (vē′nē kā′vē)

Either of two large veins that carry blood with low levels of oxygen to the right atrium of the heart.♦ The superior vena cava receives blood from the brain and upper limbs or forelimbs.♦ The inferior vena cava drains blood from the trunk and lower limbs or hindlimbs and is the largest vein in the body.