- Adventitious
- Coming from an external source or occurring in an unusual place or manner. Not inherent, inherited or innate but rather occurring accidentally or spontaneously. When a doctor or nurse auscults (listens to) the chest or abdomen, adventitious sounds are those that are normally not heard coming from the chest or abdomen. The word "adventitious" comes from the Latin "adventicius" meaning "foreign, strange, extraneous, coming from abroad or from outside." This, in turn, comes from the verb "advenire" meaning "to come to" or "to arrive." Other English words that stem from "advenire" include "adventure," "avenue," and the medical term "adventitia."
* * *1. Arising from an external source or occurring in an unusual place or manner. SEE ALSO: extrinsic. 2. Occurring accidentally or spontaneously, as opposed to natural causes or hereditary. 3. SYN: adventitial.
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ad·ven·ti·tious -əs adj1 a) arising sporadically or in other than the usual location <an \adventitious part in embryonic development>b) occurring spontaneously or accidentally in a country or region to which it is not native <an \adventitious insect>2) ADVENTITIAL3) not congenital <\adventitious deafness>ad·ven·ti·tious·ly adv* * *
adj.1. occurring in a place other than the usual one.2. relating to the adventitia.* * *
ad·ven·ti·tious (ad″ven-tishґəs) [ad- + venire to come] 1. accidental or acquired; not natural or hereditary. 2. found somewhere other than in the normal or usual place. 3. adventitial.
Medical dictionary. 2011.