Phlebology
/ˌflɛˈbɒlədʒi/noun
The branch of medicine concerned with veins and vein diseases.
Did you know?Phlebology comes from Greek phleps/phleb- for “vein,” a root that also survives in scientific terms like phlebitis and phlebectomy, while the -logy ending literally means “study of,” turning the word into “the study of veins.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bʰlewbʰ-
“to swell, bubble up”
Ancient Greek
Greek
φλέψ (phléps), gen. φλεβός (phlebós)
“vein”
Late Greek / Hellenistic
Greek
-λογία (-logía)
“study, discourse”
19th Century
English
phlebology
“the study of veins and venous disorders”
Modern English
English
phlebology
“the medical specialty dealing with veins”
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