Medical Dictionary Definitions A-Z List
Medical Dictionary Definitions A - Z - «V»:
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Vein, small saphenous
Vein, small saphenous: The smaller of the two saphenous veins, the principal veins that run up the leg superficially (near the surface).
The small saphenous vein, runs behind the outer malleolus (the protuberance on the outside of the ankle joint), comes up the back of the leg and joins the poplitea...
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Vein, splenic
Vein, splenic: A vein that is formed by the union of several small veins draining blood from the stomach, pancreas and spleen. The splenic vein is a major contributor to the portal vein which goes to the liver....
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Vein, superior vena cava
Vein, superior vena cava: A large vein that receives blood from the head, neck, upper extremities, and thorax and empties it into the right atrium of the heart....
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Vein, varicose
Vein, varicose: See: Varicose vein....
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Veins, ophthalmic
Veins, ophthalmic: The orbital cavity is drained by paired veins called the superior and inferior ophthalmic veins. The superior ophthalmic vein arises at the inner angle of orbit and follows the course of ophthalmic artery into the cavernous sinus, a greatly dilated (widened) channel of venous blo...
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Veisalgia
Veisalgia: The sober medical term for a hangover.
"There is no consensus definition of veisalgia ('alcohol hangover'....)" (Ann Int Med, 2000)
From the Norwegian kveis (uneasiness following debauchery) + the Greek algia (pain)....
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Velamentous insertion of umbilical cord
Velamentous insertion of umbilical cord: An abnormal condition in which the umbilical cord does not insert into the placental mass but, instead, traverses the fetal membranes before it inserts into the umbilical cord. The main danger is vasa previa, a condition in which the blood vessels may be lodg...
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Velocardiofacial syndrome
Velocardiofacial syndrome: A congenital malformation syndrome characterized by cleft palate, heart defects, abnormal facial structure, and learning problems. Less
frequent features include short stature, small-than-normal head
(microcephaly), mental retardation, minor ear anomalies, slender
hands...
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Velpeau hernia
Velpeau hernia: A hernia in the groin in front of the femoral blood vessels. A hernia ("rupture") is a protrusion of tissue through the wall of a cavity in which it is normally contained.
Named for the 19th-century Paris surgeon Alfred Armand Louis Marie Velpeau (1795-1867). A kind of bandage and ...
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Velvet ant sting
Velvet ant sting: Common in most parts of the world
including the Southern and Southwestern United States, velvet ants are not true ants but
rather parasitic wasps. Their sting-like that of other wasps, fire ants, bees, yellow
jackets, and hornets -- can trigger allergic reactions varying greatly in...
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Vena cava
Vena cava: The superior vena cava is the large vein
which returns blood to the heart from the head, neck and both upper
limbs. The inferior vena cava returns blood to the heart from the
lower part of the body.
The return of blood via the vena cava can be compromised and cause
disease. For exampl...
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Vena cava syndrome, superior
Vena cava syndrome, superior: The symptoms that result from compression of the large vein that carries blood down to the heart.
The superior vena cava is a large vein that transmits blood from the upper body back to the heart. The superior vena cava is located in the middle of the chest and is surro...
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Vena cava, inferior
Vena cava, inferior: A large vein that receives blood from the lower extremities, pelvis and abdomen and empties it into the right atrium of the heart....
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Vena cava, superior
Vena cava, superior: A large vein that receives
blood from the head, neck, upper extremities, and thorax and empties it into the right atrium of the heart....
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Venereal
Venereal: Having to do with
sexual contact. The
word venereal comes from Venus, the Roman goddess of love. A venereal disease
(morbus venereus) is contracted and transmitted by sexual contact. Today the more common term is sexually transmitted, as in a sexually transmitted infection and sexually...