CAVERNOUS

Pronunciation (US): (GB):

I. (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Filled with vascular sinuses and capable of becoming distended and rigid as the result of being filled with blood

Example:

the penis is an erectile organ

Synonyms:

cavernous; erectile

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

expansive (able or tending to expand or characterized by expansion)

Domain category:

physiology (the branch of the biological sciences dealing with the functioning of organisms)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Being or suggesting a cavern

Example:

vast cavernous chambers hollowed out of limestone

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

hollow (not solid; having a space or gap or cavity)

Derivation:

cavern (a large cave or a large chamber in a cave)

Credits

Context examples:

The capillaries fill with blood and stretch, thereby creating cavernous spaces.

(Cerebral Cavernous Malformation, NCI Thesaurus)

A cavernous hemangioma arising from the central nervous system.

(Central Nervous System Cavernous Hemangioma, NCI Thesaurus)

It is characterized by the presence of cavernous vascular spaces.

(Cardiac Cavernous Hemangioma, NCI Thesaurus)

And every time the hand descended, the ears flattened down and a cavernous growl surged in his throat.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

It is characterized by the formation of capillary-sized and cavernous vascular spaces.

(Angiomatosis, NCI Thesaurus)

A hemangioma characterized by the presence of cavernous vascular spaces.

(Cavernous Hemangioma, NCI Thesaurus)

A cavernous hemangioma arising from the face.

(Cavernous Hemangioma of the Face, NCI Thesaurus)

A meningioma that affects the cavernous sinus.

(Cavernous Sinus Meningioma, NCI Thesaurus)

A lymphangioma characterized by the presence of thin-walled cavernous lymphatic spaces.

(Cavernous Lymphangioma, NCI Thesaurus)

Cerebral cavernous malformations (CCMs) are clusters of dilated, thin-walled blood vessels that can lead to seizures or stroke when blood leaks into the surrounding brain tissue.