Definition of capillary Capillary

/kæˈpʌlɛˌɹi/ - [katpuleree] - cap•il•lar•y

We found 16 definitions of capillary from 7 different sources.

What does capillary mean?

WordNet

Noun Plural: capillaries
capillary - any of the minute blood vessels connecting arterioles with venules
		capillary vessel
		blood vessel a vessel in which blood circulates
		glomerulus a small intertwined group of capillaries in the malpighian body; it filters the blood during urine formation
capillary - a tube of small internal diameter; holds liquid by capillary action
		capillary tube, capillary tubing
		tubing, tube conduit consisting of a long hollow object (usually cylindrical) used to hold and conduct objects or liquids or gases
Adjective
capillary - long and slender with a very small internal diameter; "a capillary tube"
		hairlike
		thin lacking excess flesh; "you can't be too rich or too thin"; "Yon Cassius has a lean and hungry look"-Shakespeare
capillary - of or relating to hair

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Wiktionary

capillary (Noun)
A narrow tube.
capillary (Noun)
Any of the small blood vessel s that connect arteries to veins.
capillary (Adjective)
Of or pertaining to hair.
capillary (Adjective)
Pertaining to a narrow tube.

Webster DictionaryWebster's Unabridged Dictionary 📘

capillary (a.)
Resembling a hair; fine; minute; very slender; having minute tubes or interspaces; having very small bore; as, the capillary vessels of animals and plants.
capillary (a.)
Pertaining to capillary tubes or vessels; as, capillary action.
capillary (n.)
A tube or vessel, extremely fine or minute.
capillary (n.)
A minute, thin-walled vessel; particularly one of the smallest blood vessels connecting arteries and veins, but used also for the smallest lymphatic and biliary vessels.

OmegaWiki DictionaryOmegaWiki Dictionary Ω

capillary
A minute vessel that connects the arterioles and venules.

Chambers DictionaryChamber's 20th Century Dictionary 📕

capillary
kap′il-a-ri, or ka-pil′a-ri, adj. as fine or minute as a hair: having a very small bore, as a tube.—n. a tube with a bore as fine as a hair: (pl.) the minute vessels that unite the veins and arteries in animals.—adj. Capillaceous (kap-i-lā′shi-us), hair-like, capillary.—n. Capillar′ity, a name given to certain phenomena which appear when open tubes, having a very small bore, are placed in vessels containing liquids—e.g., if placed in water, the level of the water in the tube will be above that of the general surface.—adj. Cap′illose, hairy. [L. capillaris—capillus, hair, akin to caput, the head, akin to Eng. Head.]

Wikipedia

A capillary is a single celled blood vessel. It does not have the muscular/elastic tissue of other blood vessels. It has a single celled wall to help substances be transported through organisms.

Capillaries are small, and smaller than any other blood vessels. They are about 5-10 μms big, which connect arterioles and venules, and enable the moving of water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and many other nutrient and waste chemical stuff between blood and surrounding tissues.

Anatomy.

Blood moves from the heart to arteries, which branch and narrow into smaller arteries, and then branch more into capillaries. After oxygen has been moved to the tissue, capillaries join and widen to become small veins and then widen more to become veins, which return blood to the heart.

The "capillary bed" is the network of capillaries supplying an organ. The more metabolically active the cells, the more capillaries it will require to supply nutrients and carry away waste products.

Special arteries connect between arterioles and venules and are important in bypassing the the flow of blood through the capillaries. True capillaries come from mainly from metarterioles and provide movement between cells and the circulation. The width of 8 μm forces the red blood cells to partly fold into bullet-like shapes in order to bypass them in single file.

Precapillary muscles are rings of smooth muscles at the start of true capillaries that handle blood flow into true capillaries and control blood flow through a body p