Home» News» Interesting Anatomy Etymology – Capillary» Interesting Anatomy Etymology – Capillary Leave a Comment / Anatomy, Infographic / By physioweb Capil-Hairy ‘Capillary’ comes from the Latin ‘capillaris’ – “relating to the hair or any structure as fine as a hair”. Early anatomists thought capillaries looked hair-like. Capillary diameters are actually smaller than hair. Red blood cells can only travel through them one at a time. View more anatomical terms with interesting origins. Share this: Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)