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capillary

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The definition of a capillary is a small blood vessel that is part of the network of the small arteries and small veins, or an extremely thin tube through which nothing thicker than a human hair can pass.

(noun)

A tiny blood vessel in your body that connects your smallest arteries (your arterioles) to your smallest veins (your venules) is an example of a capillary.

See capillary in Webster's New World College Dictionary

adjective

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

Origin: L capillaris < capillus, hair

noun pl. capillaries

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

See capillary in American Heritage Dictionary 4

adjective

Relating to or resembling a hair; fine and slender.
Having a very small internal diameter: a capillary tube.
Anatomy Of or relating to the capillaries.
Physics Of or relating to capillarity.

noun pl. cap·il·lar·ies

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.
A tube with a very small internal diameter.

Origin:

Origin: From Latin capillāris

Origin: , from capillus, hair

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