Ven"ous (?), a. [L. venosus, from vena a vein. See Vein.]

1. Anat.

Of or pertaining to a vein or veins; as, the venous circulation of the blood.

2.

Contained in the veins, or having the same qualities as if contained in the veins, that is, having a dark bluish color and containing an insufficient amount of oxygen so as no longer to be fit for oxygenating the tissues; -- said of the blood, and opposed to arterial.

3.

Marked with veins; veined; as, a venous leaf.

Venous leaf Bot., a leaf having vessels branching, or variously divided, over its surface. -- Venous hum Med., a humming sound, or bruit, heard during auscultation of the veins of the neck in anaemia. -- Venous pulse Physiol., the pulse, or rhythmic contraction, sometimes seen in a vein, as in the neck, when there is an obstruction to the passage of blood from the auricles to the ventricles, or when there is an abnormal rigidity in the walls of the greater vessels. There is normally no pulse in a vein.

 

© Webster 1913.