Webster's New World Medical Dictionary

ventricular septum
The wall between the two
lower chambers (ventricles) of the heart.
ventricular tachycardia
An abnormal heart
rhythm that is rapid and regular and that originates
from an area of the lower chamber (ventricle) of
the heart. Ventricular tachycardias can be life-
threatening arrhythmias that are commonly associ-
ated with damage to the heart muscle due to
coronary artery disease.
venule
A little vein that goes from a capillary to a
vein.
vernix
A white, cheesy substance that covers and
protects the skin of a fetus. Vernix is still all over the
skin of a baby at birth. Vernix is composed of sebum
(skin oil) and cells that have sloughed off the skin
of the fetus. More formally known as vernix caseosa.
vernix caseosa
See 
vernix.
verruca
See 
wart.
verruga
See 
wart.
vertebra
One of 33 bony segments that form the
human spinal column. Each vertebra has its own
name and/or number. For example, the second cer-
vical vertebra is known as the axis, or C2, vertebra.
See also 
vertebral column.
vertebral artery
One of two key arteries located
in the back of the neck that carry blood from the
heart to the brain, spine, and neck muscles.
vertebral column
The 33 vertebrae that fit
together to form a flexible, yet extraordinarily
tough, column that serves to support the back
through a full range of motion. The vertebral col-
umn also protects the spinal cord, which runs from
the brain through the hollow space in the middle of
the vertebral column. There are 7 cervical (C1–C7),
12 thoracic (T1–T12), 5 lumbar (L1–L5), 5 sacral
(S1–S5), and 3 to 5 coccygeal vertebrae in the ver-
tebral column, each separated by intervertebral
disks. The first cervical vertebra, known as the atlas,
supports the head. It pivots on the odontoid process
of the second cervical vertebra, the axis. The cervi-
cal vertebrae end at their juncture with the thoracic
vertebrae. The seventh cervical vertebra (the promi-
nent vertebra, so named because of its long spiny
projection) adjoins the first thoracic vertebra. The
thoracic vertebrae provide an attachment site for