Operculum

Operculum

Operculum may refer to:

  • Operculum (animal), a stiff structure resembling a lid or a small door that opens and closes
  • Operculum (botany), various lids and flaps pertaining to plants, algae and fungi
  • Operculum (brain), a part of the human brain
  • Operculum (dentistry), a small flap of tissue which may cover an erupting or partially erupted molar
  • Operculum (pregnancy), the cervical mucus plug that blocks the cervix of the uterus after conception

See also

  • Dehiscence (botany), the opening of a plant structure, such as a fruit, anther, or sporangium, to release its contents. This sometimes involves an operculum.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • operculum — 1713, from L. operculum cover, lid, from operire to cover, close (see WEIR (Cf. weir)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • Operculum — O*per cu*lum, n.; pl. L. {Opercula}, E. {Operculums}. [L., a cover or lid, fr. operire to cover.] 1. (Bot.) (a) The lid of a pitcherform leaf. (b) The lid of the urnlike capsule of mosses. [1913 Webster] 2. (Anat.) (a) Any lidlike or operculiform …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Opercŭlum — (lat., »Deckel«), s. Tafel »Samenformen«; in der Zoologie der Deckel zum Verschließen der Schale bei den Deckelschnecken (s. Schnecken) …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • operculum — ► NOUN (pl. opercula) Zoology 1) a flap of skin protecting a fish s gills, typically stiffened by bony plates. 2) a plate that closes the aperture of a gastropod mollusc s shell. ORIGIN Latin, lid, covering …   English terms dictionary

  • operculum — [ō pʉr′kyo͞o ləm, ō pʉr′kyələm] n. pl. opercula [ō pʉr′kyo͞olə, ō pʉr′kyələ] or operculums [ModL < L, lid, dim. < operire, to close, shut: for IE bases see OB & APERTURE] any of various covering flaps or lidlike structures in plants and… …   English World dictionary

  • Operculum — Das Operculum einer marinen Schnecke Ein Operculum (lat. „Deckelchen“, Pl. Opercula) ist ein horniger oder kalkiger Deckel, den die Schnecken aus der Gruppe der Vorderkiemer an der Oberseite ihres Fußes tragen. Damit wird die Mündung des Gehäuses …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • operculum — (female pleopod(s) II). A plate over the branchial chamber of the abdomen of female janiroideans, consisting of the fused second pleopods. The first pleopods are absent in female Janiroidea. In males, pleopods I and II lock together to form an… …   Crustacea glossary

  • operculum — n.; pl. opercula [L. operculum, lid] 1. A lid or flaplike cover. 2. (ANNELIDA: Polychaeta) In certain sedentary forms, a modified tentacle that closes the tube; in some Spirorbidae ( Pileolaria and Janua ) enlarges and serves as a brood pouch. 3 …   Dictionary of invertebrate zoology

  • operculum — 1. Anything resembling a lid or cover. 2. [TA] In anatomy, the portions of the frontal (o. frontale [TA], frontal o. [TA]), parietal (o. parietale [TA], parietal o. [TA]), and temporal (o. temporale [TA], temporal o. [TA]) lobes bordering the… …   Medical dictionary

  • Operculum — Oper|cu|lum [...kulum] das; s, ...la <aus lat. operculum »Deckel«> deckelartiger Teil eines Organs (Anat.) …   Das große Fremdwörterbuch

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