Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In anatomy, any duct, tube, pipe, canal, or other conduit.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun the number of strokes that make up a written letter, and the direction, sequence and speed in which they are written
  • noun a subtle reduction of weight towards the middle of the stroke of the letter
  • noun medicine a duct, tube or canal in the body

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • And there's a blood vessel called the ductus arteriosus which connects those two arteries.

    Tetralogy of Fallot — Preparing for your Baby's Delivery 2010

  • A newborn can survive with a disconnection in the aorta as long as a blood vessel called the ductus arteriosus remains open.

    Interruption of the Aortic Arch 2010

  • The majority goes into a structure called the ductus arteriosus, which is the second point in communication between the pulmonary artery and the descending aorta.

    Tetralogy of Fallot — What is Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF)? 2010

  • The third structure that's important that connects the umbilical vein to the fetal circulation is a site, a junction, called the ductus venosus.

    Tetralogy of Fallot — What is Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF)? 2010

  • An extra blood vessel (passageway) called the ductus arteriosus (DA) allows blood from the right side of the heart to flow to the aorta, one of the largest arteries, and back out into the body without going through the lungs.

    Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) 2008

  • It is a fact that very few doctors know, that the whole nervous system can only be fed by the lymph, whose central station is the so-called ductus thoracicus (thoracic duct), in the upper region of the chest.

    Valere Aude Dare to Be Healthy, Or, The Light of Physical Regeneration Louis Dechmann

  • Such a connecting vessel is termed a ductus botalli.

    The Common Frog 1874

  • Many cases of critical congenital heart disease involve a blood vessel called the ductus arteriosus.

    News - latimes.com 2011

  • Luckily for Daisy a part of the heart called the ductus valve which normally seals up at birth, stayed open and enabled her heart to continue working for nine weeks.

    icLiverpool 2010

  • Luckily for Daisy a part of the heart called the ductus valve which normally seals up at birth, stayed open and enabled her heart to continue working for nine weeks.

    icLiverpool 2010

Comments

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  • dictionary.com lists this only as an alternative for duct, but this is from a recent message on the VMS List: 'Modern forensic graphology, usually used to detect forgeries, is for the most part, dependent upon ductus; that is the direction, pressure, and order in which strokes are laid down. No two people, even when producing visually identical letters will construct those letters with exactly the same ductus.'

    The OED has 'the method of making strokes with the pen, etc.' and identifies it with its fourth definition for duct: 'A stroke drawn or traced, or the manner of tracing it (cf. L. ductus litterarum).'

    November 9, 2007