rete mirabile

noun

rete mi·​rab·​i·​le

-mə̇ˈrabəˌlē

plural retia mirabilia

-ˌmirəˈbilēə

: a small but dense network of blood vessels formed by the breaking up of a larger vessel into branches that usually reunite into one trunk and believed especially important as an oxygen-storing mechanism in aquatic mammals

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Latin, wonderful net

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