n., pl., venae ca·vae (kā'vē).
Either of two large veins that drain blood from the upper body and from the lower body and empty into the right atrium of the heart.
[New Latin vēna cava : Latin vēna, vein + Latin cava, hollow.]
vena caval vena ca'val (-vəl) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
