Examinations of small vessel within bigger one (5)

I believe the answer is:
scans
'examinations of small' is the definition.
'scans' can be an answer for 'examinations' (scan is a kind of examination). I'm not certain of the 'of small' bit.
'vessel within bigger one' is the wordplay.
'vessel' becomes 'can' (type of container).
'within' is an insertion indicator.
'bigger one' becomes 'ss' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'can' going inside 'ss' is 'SCANS'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for scans that I've seen before include "CAT and MRI" , "Glances over" , "medical examinations" , "CAT and PET" .)
