Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The innermost membrane of an organ or part, especially the inner lining of a lymphatic vessel, an artery, or a vein.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In zoology and anatomy, an intimate (that is, an innermost or lining) membrane, coating. or other structure of some part or organ; specifically, the innermost coat of an artery or vein, consisting of the endothelial lining backed by connective and elastic tissue. The full term is tunica intima.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Anat.) the innermost coat of an organ, such as a blood vessel. It usually consists of an endothelial layer of cells, backed by connective tissue and elastic tissue.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun anatomy The innermost part of an anatomical structure, particularly a tubular one: the intima of a blood vessel.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the innermost membrane of an organ (especially the inner lining of an artery or vein or lymphatic vessel)

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin, from feminine of intimus, innermost; see en in Indo-European roots.]

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