anastomosis

[ uh-nas-tuh-moh-sis ]

noun

, plural a·nas·to·mo·ses [uh, -nas-t, uh, -, moh, -seez].

1. Anatomy. communication between blood vessels by means of collateral channels, especially when usual routes are obstructed.
2. Biology, Geology. connection between parts of any branching system, as veinlets in a leaf or branches of a stream.
3. Surgery, Pathology. a joining of or opening between two organs or spaces that normally are not connected.

anastomosis

/ əˌnæstəˈməʊsɪs; əˌnæstəˈmɒtɪk /

noun

1. a natural connection between two tubular structures, such as blood vessels
2. the surgical union of two hollow organs or parts that are normally separate
3. the separation and rejoining in a reticulate pattern of the veins of a leaf or of branches

Derived Forms

• anastomotic, adjective

Other Words From

• a·nas·to·mot·ic [uh, -nas-t, uh, -, mot, -ik], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of anastomosis¹

1605–15; < New Latin < Greek: opening. See ana-, stoma, -osis

Word History and Origins

Origin of anastomosis¹

C16: via New Latin from Greek: opening, from anastomoun to equip with a mouth, from stoma mouth

Example Sentences

Krieger and his colleagues wanted to automate a surgical task called intestinal anastomosis, in which two segments of the intestine are stitched together after a portion of the organ is removed.

From Nature

To the same point of convergence other thematic lines arrive in haste, as if consciously yearning for the blissful anastomosis provided jointly by art and fate.

From The New Yorker

Then they bring in the porcine heart, and then you do your anastomosis, it’s the left atrium to right atrium, the pulmonary artery, and then you remove the air.

From Nature

This process, called anastomosis, is highly characteristic of life -- and one kingdom in particular.

From Scientific American

These connections, called arterio-venous anastomoses, govern circulation in the nonhairy surfaces of the body, bypassing capillaries that normally bring blood to the skin, Dr. Flavahan explained last year in Nature Reviews: Rheumatology.

From New York Times