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capillary

 - 6 dictionary results

cap⋅il⋅lar⋅y

[kap-uh-ler-ee] adjective, noun, plural -lar⋅ies.
–adjective
1. pertaining to or occurring in or as if in a tube of fine bore.
2. resembling a strand of hair; hairlike.
3. Physics.
a. pertaining to capillarity.
b. of or pertaining to the apparent attraction or repulsion between a liquid and a solid, observed in capillarity.
4. Anatomy. pertaining to a capillary or capillaries.
–noun
5. Anatomy. one of the minute blood vessels between the terminations of the arteries and the beginnings of the veins.
6. Also called capillary tube. a tube with a small bore.

Origin:
1570–80; capill(ar) (obs., < L capillāris pertaining to hair, equiv. to capill(us) hair + -āris -ar 1 ) + -ary
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To capillary
cap·il·lar·y   (kāp'ə-lěr'ē)   
adj.  
  1. Relating to or resembling a hair; fine and slender.

  2. Having a very small internal diameter: a capillary tube.

  3. Anatomy Of or relating to the capillaries.

  4. Physics Of or relating to capillarity.

n.   pl. cap·il·lar·ies
  1. Anatomy One of the minute blood vessels that connect arterioles and venules. These blood vessels form an intricate network throughout the body for the interchange of various substances, such as oxygen and carbon dioxide, between blood and tissue cells.

  2. A tube with a very small internal diameter.


[From Latin capillāris, from capillus, hair.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 1cap·il·lary
Pronunciation: 'kap-&-"ler-E, Brit usu k&-'pil-&-rE
Function: adjective
1 a : resembling a hair especially in slender elongated form b : having a very small bore capillary tube>
2 : involving, held by, or resulting fromsurface tension
3 : of or relating to capillaries or capillarity

Main Entry: 2capillary
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -lar·ies
: a capillary tube; especially : any of thesmallest blood vessels connecting arterioles with venules and forming networks throughout the body
Medical Dictionary

capillary cap·il·lary (kāp'ə-lěr'ē)
adj.

  1. Of or relating to the capillaries.

  2. Relating to or resembling a hair; fine and slender.

n.
Blood capillary.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Science Dictionary
capillary   (kāp'ə-lěr'ē)  Pronunciation Key 
Any of the tiny blood vessels that connect the smallest arteries (arterioles) to the smallest veins (venules). Capillaries form a network throughout the body for the exchange of oxygen, metabolic waste products, and carbon dioxide between blood and tissue cells.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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