arterioles
|ar-te-ri-ole|
🇺🇸
/ɑrˈtɪri.oʊlz/
🇬🇧
/ɑːˈtɪəri.əʊlz/
(arteriole)
small artery
Etymology
'arteriole' originates from New Latin, specifically the word 'arteriola', which is a diminutive of Latin 'arteria' meaning 'artery'.
'arteriole' changed from the Late Latin/Medieval Latin diminutive 'arteriola' (from Latin 'arteria'), passed into modern scientific usage (via French 'artériole' in some sources), and eventually became the English 'arteriole'.
Initially, the ancestor word 'arteria' in Greek/Latin was thought to mean a vessel carrying air; over time its meaning shifted to a vessel carrying blood, and the diminutive 'arteriola' came to mean a 'small artery' as used in modern anatomy.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
small-diameter branches of arteries that lead to capillaries; the smallest type of artery.
Arterioles control the flow of blood into capillary beds.
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Noun 2
in physiology, resistance vessels that regulate peripheral resistance and thus help control blood pressure and tissue perfusion.
Dilation or constriction of arterioles has a major effect on systemic blood pressure.
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Last updated: 2025/10/22 02:12