| 释义 |
ar·tery
\ˈär]d.ərē, ˈȧ], ]tə-, -ri sometimes ]trē or -i\ noun
(-es)
Etymology: Middle English arterie, from Latin arteria windpipe, artery, from Greek artēria; akin to Greek aortē aorta — more at aorta
1.
a. : one of the tubular branching vessels that carry blood from the heart to the various parts and organs of the body and have thicker more muscular and elastic walls than veins, the outer coating being in smaller arteries increasingly reduced until the ultimate capillaries connecting them with the veins possess only the innermost endothelial layer, blood in the arteries being under pressure and flowing in waves due to beats of the heart — compare adventitia, intima, media; pulmonary artery, systemic; circulation
b. : an often contractile vessel distributing blood to the tissues of an invertebrate animal
2. obsolete : trachea 1
3.
a. : the main waterway of a river system
< he had stood at the confluence of the Monongahela and the Alleghany and seen the great artery of the Ohio flow out of them — Roger Burlingame >
b. : a channel of transportation or communication; especially : the principal channel in a branching system
< artery of trade >
< through many arteries — publications, radio and television programs, movies, lectures — J.H.Baker >
c. : a principal street or road
< they issue from a side road into a main artery — Green Peyton >
Synonyms: see way |