artery

Term: artery

Origin: An Greek

αρτηρία/arteria (=wind pipe) from αήρ/aer (air)

+τηρείν/terein (=keep, carry) or αείρω/aero(=lift) as ancient Greek phycisians thought, by mistake, that arteries carried air, instead of blood as most ancient anatomy lessons had to be learned from corpses where after death, arteries are nearly empty.

Coined: 14th cent

Definition:

Artery is any of the large vessels that carry blood away from the heart

Runon derivatives :

arteriole, arteriolith, arteriography, arteriosclerosis, arteriopathy, arterioplasty, arteriorhaphy, arteriostenosis, arteritis