Meaning of CAPILLARY
| Pronunciation: | | 'kapu`leree
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 WordNet Dictionary |
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- [n] a tube of small internal diameter; holds liquid by capillary action
- [n] any of the minute blood vessels connecting arterioles with venules
- [adj] long and slender with a very small internal diameter; "a capillary tube"
- [adj] (anatomy) "a capillary network"
- [adj] relating to or involving capillarity; "capillary action"; "capillary attraction"
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| | Synonyms: | | capillary tube, capillary tubing, hairlike, thin |
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| | See Also: | | blood vessel, glomerulus, thermometer, tomentum, tomentum cerebri, tube, tubing | |
| Webster's 1913 Dictionary |
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\Cap"il*la*ry\ (k[a^]p"[i^]l*l[asl]*r[y^] or
k[.a]*p[i^]l"l[.a]*r[y^]; 277), a. [L. capillaris, fr.
capillus hair. Cf. {Capillaire}.]
1. Resembling a hair; fine; minute; very slender; having
minute tubes or interspaces; having very small bore; as,
the capillary vessels of animals and plants.
2. Pertaining to capillary tubes or vessels; as, capillary
action.
{Capillary attraction}, {Capillary repulsion}, the apparent
attraction or repulsion between a solid and liquid caused
by capillarity. See {Capillarity}, and {Attraction}.
{Capillarity tubes}. See the {Note} under {Capillarity}.
\Cap"il*la*ry\, n.; pl. {Capillaries}.
1. A tube or vessel, extremely fine or minute.
2. (Anat.) A minute, thin-walled vessel; particularly one of
the smallest blood vessels connecting arteries and veins,
but used also for the smallest lymphatic and biliary
vessels.
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| Biology Dictionary |
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| | Definition: | | The smallest of the body's blood vessels. Capillaries have walls so thin that oxygen and glucose can pass through them and enter the cells, and waste products such as carbon dioxide can pass back into the blood to be carried away and taken out of the body. Sometimes people who have had diabetes for a long time find that their capillaries become weak, especially those in the kidney and the retina of the eye. |
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| Thesaurus Terms |
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| | Related Terms: | | aorta, arterial, arteriole, artery, blood vessel, bristlelike, carotid, cirrose, cirrous, fibered, fibroid, fibrous, flagelliform, flossy, funicular, gossamery, hairlike, hairy, jugular vein, ligamental, portal vein, pulmonary artery, pulmonary vein, ropy, silky, stringy, taeniate, taeniform, threadlike, thready, vascular, vein, veinlet, veinous, vena cava, venation, venose, venous, venule, vesicular, wiry |
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