capillaries

Variant of capillary

capillary definition

cap·il·lary (kap′ə ler′ē; Brit kə pil′ə ri)

adjective

  1. of or like a hair, esp. in being very slender
  2. having a very small bore
  3. in or of capillaries

Etymology: L capillaris < capillus, hair

noun pl. capillaries -·lar′·ies

  1. a tube with a very small bore
    also capillary tube
  2. any of the tiny blood vessels normally connecting the smallest arteries (arterioles) with the smallest veins (venules)

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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