Crossword Genius

An aid to circulation (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

vein

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'circulation' is the definition.
(I know that vein is a type of blood vessel)

'an aid' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'an' could be 'i' (Roman numeral for one) and 'i' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'ven' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'to' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for vein that I've seen before include "Blood-carrying vessel" , "part of body" , "Vessel for claret" , "Speaker's useless" , "Tube that carries blood to the heart" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish News.
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