What does "anastomosis" mean?

A cross-connection between two blood vessels.

What is a synonym for "anastomosis"?

Common synonyms include: inosculation.

Pronounced //ənæstəˈməʊsɪs//.

//ənæstəˈməʊsɪs// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
A cross-connection between two blood vessels. countable, uncountable
2
a natural or surgical joining of parts or branches of tubular structures so as to make or become continuous wordnet
3
An interconnection between any two channels, passages or vessels. countable, uncountable
"(...) our grandam, which we are linked up with by successive anastomosis of navelcords sold us all, seed, breed and generation, for a penny pippin."
4
The surgical creation of a connecting passage between blood vessels, bowels or other channels. countable, uncountable
5
The insertion of one word within another, as in "underdarkneath" (James Joyce). countable, uncountable

"(...) our grandam, which we are linked up with by successive anastomosis of navelcords sold us all, seed, breed and generation, for a penny pippin."

From Ancient Greek ἀναστόμωσις (anastómōsis), from ἀναστομόω (anastomóō, “furnish with a mouth or outlet”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.