Dictionary   FastHealth  Email This!

 


azygos vein

n :  any of a system of three veins which drain the thoracic wall and much of the abdominal wall and which form a collateral circulation when either the inferior or superior vena cava is obstructed : esp  :  a vein that receives blood from the right half of the thoracic and abdominal walls, ascends along the right side of the vertebral column, and empties into the superior vena cava - compare ACCESSORY HEMIAZYGOS VEIN HEMIAZYGOS VEIN  .
 
 

 
Published under license with Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.  © 1997-2024.







               



               



Mississippi County Hospital System (Blytheville, Arkansas - Mississippi County)