lacuna (redirected from urethral lacuna)

lacuna /la·cu·na/ (lah-ku´nah) pl. lacu´nae   [L.]

1. a small pit or hollow cavity.

2. a defect or gap, as in the field of vision (scotoma).lacu´nar

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absorption lacuna  resorption l.

bone lacuna  a small cavity within the bone matrix, containing an osteocyte; from it slender canaliculi radiate and penetrate the adjacent lamellae to anastomose with the canaliculi of neighboring lacunae, thus forming a system of cavities interconnected by minute canals.

cartilage lacuna  any of the small cavities within the cartilage matrix, containing a chondrocyte.

Howship's lacuna  resorption l.

intervillous lacuna  one of the blood spaces of the placenta in which the fetal villi are found.

lateral lacunae  venous meshworks within the dura mater on either side of the superior sagittal sinus.

osseous lacuna  bone l.

lacuna pharyn´gis  a depression at the pharyngeal end of the eustachian tube.

resorption lacuna  a pit or groove in developing bone that is undergoing resorption; frequently found to contain osteoclasts.

trophoblastic lacuna  intervillous l.

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la·cu·na (l-kyn)

n. pl. la·cu·nas or la·cu·nae (-n)

1. An anatomical cavity, space, or depression, especially in a bone.

2. An empty space or a missing part; a gap; a defect.

3. An abnormal space between the strata or between the cellular elements of the epidermis.

4. See corneal space.

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la·cunal adj.

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lacuna (lkoo´n),

n a term used in anatomic nomenclature to designate a small hollow cavity or pit.

lacuna, absorption (Howship's lacuna),

n an area (pit) of bone resorption, usually irregular in outline, and often containing osteoclasts.

lacuna, osteocyte,

n a hollow cavity within bone, containing osteocytes, from which canaliculi, containing protoplasmic processes of the osteocytes, radiate.

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lacuna

pl. lacunae [L.]

1. a small pit or hollow cavity.

2. a defect or gap, as in the field of vision (scotoma).

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absorption lacuna

a pit or groove in developing bone that is undergoing resorption; frequently found to contain osteoclasts.

bone lacuna

a small cavity within the bone matrix, containing an osteocyte, and from which slender canaliculi radiate and penetrate the adjacent lamellae to anastomose with the canaliculi of neighboring lacunae, thus forming a system of cavities interconnected by minute canals.

cartilage lacuna

any of the small cavities within the cartilage matrix, containing a chondrocyte.

Howship's lacuna

the concave cavities which are formed by osteoclasts in the process of bone resorption.

osseous lacuna

bone lacuna (see above).

osteocytic lacuna

see bone lacuna (above).

urethral lacuna

numerous small depressions or pits in the mucous membrane of the urethra.

vascular lacuna

a breach in any membrane or other tissue which is navigated by blood vessels.