vena cava meaning
The noun VENA CAVA has 1 sense: 1  1. either of two large veins that return oxygen-depleted blood to the right atrium of the heart. 2  Meaning: 3  Either of two large veins that return oxygen-depleted blood to the right atrium of the heart. 4  Classified under: 5  Nouns denoting body parts. 6  Hypernyms (vena cava is a kind of...): vein; vena; venous blood vessel (a blood vessel that carries blood from the capillaries toward the heart) Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of vena cava): inferior vena cava; postcava (receives blood from lower limbs and abdominal organs and empties into the posterior part of the right atrium of the heart; formed from the union of the two iliac veins)