inferior vena cava
Meaning of inferior vena cava: The inferior vena cava is the body's largest vein, returning oxygen poor blood from the lower body and abdomen to the heart.
Definition of inferior vena cava
The inferior vena cava is a large vein that carries oxygen depleted blood from the lower half of the body toward the heart. It forms from the joining of veins draining the legs and pelvis and travels upward through the abdomen, receiving blood from the kidneys, liver, and other abdominal organs along its path, before emptying directly into the right atrium of the heart.
The inferior vena cava is one of the two largest veins in the body, working alongside the superior vena cava, which instead returns blood from the head, neck, and upper body. Together, these two vessels deliver essentially all of the body's oxygen depleted blood back to the heart, from which it is pumped to the lungs to be reoxygenated.
Because the inferior vena cava passes directly through the abdomen close to several major organs, it can be compressed by an enlarging abdominal mass or by pressure from a late pregnancy uterus, which can reduce blood return to the heart and affect blood pressure.
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Used in a sentence
Imaging showed a tumor compressing the inferior vena cava near its entry into the heart.
Good to know
Compression of the inferior vena cava, such as from an enlarging abdominal mass or a late pregnancy uterus, can reduce blood return to the heart even though the vein itself is not diseased.
Word origin
Where “inferior vena cava” comes from
Formed from Latin inferior, meaning lower, vena, meaning vein, and cava, meaning hollow, together describing the large, hollow lower vein.