disk
[disk] a circular or rounded flat plate; often spelled disc in names of anatomic structures.
articular disk a pad of fibrocartilage or dense fibrous tissue present in some synovial joints.
Bowman's disk one of the flat plates making up a striated muscle fiber.
embryonic disk (
germ disk) (
germinal disk) a flattened round bilaminar plate of cells in the
blastocyst of a mammal, where the first traces of the embryo are seen; called also
embryonic or
germinal area.
intervertebral disk the layer of fibrocartilage between the bodies of adjoining
vertebrae; see also
herniated disk.
Merkel's d's small cup-shaped tactile receptors in the skin that are particularly sensitive to continuous pressure.
optic disk the intraocular part of the optic nerve formed by fibers converging from the retina and appearing as a pink to white disk in the retina; there are no sensory receptors in the region and hence no response to stimuli. Called also
blind spot.
Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.