Affixes

Terms include arteriosclerosis (Greek sklēroun, to harden), the hardening of the walls of the arteries, typically in old age; arteriole, a small branch of an artery leading into capillaries; arteriography, investigation of an artery using radiography; arteriotomy (Greek tomia, cutting), cutting into or opening an artery; and arteritis, inflammation of the walls of an artery. The usual adjective is arterial, which also has a figurative sense of an important route in a system of roads, railway lines, or rivers.