ventricle
Meaning
a hollow part or cavity in an organ, especially one of the two main chambers of the heart that pump blood.
any of the four connected fluid-filled cavities in the centre of the brain.
Structure
Usage
the left ventricle of the heart pumps oxygenated blood to the entire body.
a blockage can prevent blood from leaving the ventricle efficiently.
the cerebral ventricles are part of the brain's ventricular system.
Etymology
The word 'ventricle' has a literal anatomical history. It derives from the Latin 'ventriculus', a diminutive of 'venter' (belly, womb). This term was applied in Medieval Latin anatomy to describe the small, hollow, belly-like chambers of the heart and brain. The semantic logic evolved from a general term for a cavity or pouch in the body to specifically denote the essential pumping chambers of the heart and the cerebrospinal fluid-filled cavities in the brain, retaining the core idea of a small, contained hollow space.
Analysis
ventr originates from latin 'venter' meaning belly or womb. icle is a diminutive suffix from latin '-iculus', indicating something small.