wordswarm: free dictionary lookup
look up a word or phrase
My Projects: Payphone Project . USPS Mailbox Locator . Found Photos . "The Etude" Magazine . Discarded Umbrella Carcasses . My Receipts
Telephone Exchange Names . My Film Photography . Sepulchral Portraits . WanderLIC . Old Receipts . Sorabji.ME . Sorabji.com
Wordswarms From Years Past



Adjacent Words

medlar tree
MEDLARS
Medle
Medley
medley relay
Medleys
MEDLINE
medly
Medoc
Medregal
Medrick
medroxyprogesterone
medulla oblongata
medulla spinalis
Medullar
medullary
Medullary groove
medullary ray
Medullary rays
medullary sheath
medullated
medullated nerve fiber
Medullin
medulloblastoma
Medusa

Full-text Search for "medulla"
4785

medulla definitions



submit to reddit

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a white fatty substance that forms a medullary sheath around the axis cylinder of some nerve fibers [syn: myelin, myeline, medulla]
2: lower or hindmost part of the brain; continuous with spinal cord; (`bulb' is an old term for medulla oblongata); "the medulla oblongata is the most vital part of the brain because it contains centers controlling breathing and heart functioning" [syn: medulla oblongata, medulla, bulb]
3: the inner part of an organ or structure in plant or animal [ant: cortex]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural -las or medullae) Etymology: Middle English, from Latin Date: 15th century 1. plural medullae a. bone marrow b. medulla oblongata 2. a. the inner or deep part of an animal or plant structure <the adrenal medulla> b. myelin sheath

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 the inner region of certain organs or tissues usu. when it is distinguishable from the outer region or cortex, as in hair or a kidney. 2 the myelin layer of certain nerve fibres. 3 the soft internal tissue of plants. Phrases and idioms: medulla oblongata the continuation of the spinal cord within the skull, forming the lowest part of the brain stem. Derivatives: medullary adj. Etymology: L, = pith, marrow, prob. rel. to medius middle

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Medulla Me*dul"la, n. [L.] 1. Marrow; pith; hence, essence. [Obs.] --Milton. 2. (Anat.) The marrow of bones; the deep or inner portion of an organ or part; as, the medulla, or medullary substance, of the kidney; specifically, the medula oblongata. 3. (Bot.) A soft tissue, occupying the center of the stem or branch of a plant; pith. Medulla oblongata. [L., oblong medulla] (Anat.), the posterior part of the brain connected with the spinal cord. It includes all the hindbrain except the cerebellum and pons, and from it a large part of the cranial nerves arise. It controls very largely respiration, circulation, swallowing, and other functions, and is the most vital part of the brain; -- called also bulb of the spinal cord. See Brain.





wordswarm.net: free dictionary lookup