News Health News Word of the Week: Stenosis By Team Verywell Health Fact checked by Nick Blackmer Fact checked by Nick Blackmer on August 19, 2021 LinkedIn Nick Blackmer is a fact checker and researcher with extensive background in health content. Learn about our editorial process on August 19, 2021 Share Tweet Email Print Alex Dos Diaz / Verywell Each week, Verywell explains a term from health, medicine, science, or technology. Word of the Week: Stenosis How to say it: Stenosis (stuh-NO-sis) What it means: When a passageway in the body becomes narrowed or constricted. Where it comes from: The Greek stenōsis, "the act of narrowing." Sciepro/Getty Where you might see or hear it: People who have cardiovascular disease sometimes develop stenosis in the aortic valve of their heart. If this valve becomes constricted, blood does not flow through it well. If you develop this condition, your doctor will tell you that you have aortic stenosis or aortic valve stenosis. When you might want to use it: If you are talking about your new diagnosis of aortic stenosis with your loved ones, you can explain that the term means that the valve is constricted (or even blocked partly) and cannot pump blood to your body as well as it should. What You Should Know About Aortic Stenosis Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Sign up for our Health Tip of the Day newsletter, and receive daily tips that will help you live your healthiest life. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Merriam-Webster. Definition of Stenosis.