Meaning & use
phlebitis
Last updated
UK/flɪˈbaɪtɪs/
US/flɪˈbaɪtɪs/
Meaning
noununcountablemedical
Swelling and soreness of the wall of a vein, often in the leg, sometimes with a blood clot.
Grammar: Uncountable: she developed phlebitis, not a phlebitis.
Patterns
- phlebitis in something
She developed phlebitis in her calf after the long flight.
A drip left in the arm for days can cause phlebitis.
The nurse checked the vein for signs of phlebitis.
Common combinations
- develop phlebitis
- Some patients develop phlebitis after an IV line.
- superficial phlebitis
- Superficial phlebitis affects veins close to the skin.
- treat phlebitis
- Warm compresses can help treat phlebitis.
- signs of phlebitis
- Redness is one of the signs of phlebitis.
- risk of phlebitis
- Staying active lowers the risk of phlebitis.
Synonyms and how they differ
- vein inflammation
- It is a plain-language description, whereas phlebitis is the formal medical name.
- thrombophlebitis
- It is narrower, meaning vein inflammation specifically involving a clot.
Word family
- phlebotomy noun
- the taking of blood from a vein
- phlebotomist noun
- a person trained to draw blood
- thrombophlebitis noun
- phlebitis with a blood clot
Commonly confused: phlebitis or arthritis?
phlebitis vs arthritis
Arthritis is inflammation of a joint, while phlebitis is inflammation of a vein.
Practice
A red, tender, swollen vein in the leg may be diagnosed as ___.
Choose one answer.
Phlebitis is vein inflammation. Arthritis affects joints, bronchitis the airways and tonsillitis the tonsils.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “phlebitis”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
Your sentence stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.