Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The inner core of certain organs or body structures, such as the marrow of bone.
  • noun The medulla oblongata.
  • noun The pith in the stems or roots of certain plants.
  • noun The central portion of a thallus in certain lichens and red or brown algae.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The semi-fluid endosarc of a protozoön.
  • noun In anatomy and zoology: Marrow. [Little used.]
  • noun The so-called spinal marrow; the spinal cord, or central axis of the nervous system; the myelon: more fully called medulla spinalis.
  • noun The hindmost segment of the brain, continuous with the spinal cord; the afterbrain or metencephalon; the oblongata: more fully called medulla oblongata.
  • noun The ventral ganglionic chain of the nervous system of some invertebrates, as Vermes, supposed to be analogous to the spinal cord of vertebrates.
  • noun The pith of a hair.
  • noun The myelin, or white and fatty covering of the axis-cylinder of a nerve.
  • noun In botany, the pith of plants.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun obsolete Marrow; pith; hence, essence.
  • noun (Anat.) The marrow of bones; the deep or inner portion of an organ or part; ; specifically, the medula oblongata.
  • noun (Bot.) A soft tissue, occupying the center of the stem or branch of a plant; pith.
  • noun See medulla oblongata.
  • noun (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.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The soft inner part of something, especially the pith of a fruit.
  • noun anatomy The inner substance of various organs and structures, especially the marrow of bones.
  • noun anatomy The medulla oblongata.
  • noun botany The internal tissue of a plant.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the inner part of an organ or structure in plant or animal
  • noun a white fatty substance that forms a medullary sheath around the axis cylinder of some nerve fibers
  • noun lower or hindmost part of the brain; continuous with spinal cord; (`bulb' is an old term for medulla oblongata)

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Latin, perhaps alteration (influenced by medius, middle) of *merulla.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Latin medulla ‘pith, marrow’, perhaps from medius.

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Examples

  • If you think of a piece of hair as a pencil, the medulla is the graphite, the cortex is the wood, and the paint on the outside is the cuticle.

    The Tenth Circle Jodi Picoult 2006

  • If you think of a piece of hair as a pencil, the medulla is the graphite, the cortex is the wood, and the paint on the outside is the cuticle.

    The Tenth Circle Picoult, Jodi, 1966- 2006

  • It's very early, but they're specifically targeting in on the lowest part of the brain stem, known as the medulla (ph), figuring that there might be an abnormality in babies who die of SIDS versus other babies.

    CNN Transcript Nov 1, 2006 2006

  • But looking at some data specifically at the lowest part of the brain stem called the medulla, looking at serotonin activity in that area.

    CNN Transcript Nov 1, 2006 2006

  • The Latin word medulla (marrow) is used in much the same way as “mihi hæres in medullis” (Cicero); (very dear, my best friend, etc.)

    languagehat.com: MARVIN. 2005

  • These allowed him to make some significant discoveries about a section of the brain known as the medulla just at the top of the spinal cord.

    The Pawprints of History STANLEY COREN 2002

  • These allowed him to make some significant discoveries about a section of the brain known as the medulla just at the top of the spinal cord.

    The Pawprints of History STANLEY COREN 2002

  • These allowed him to make some significant discoveries about a section of the brain known as the medulla just at the top of the spinal cord.

    The Pawprints of History STANLEY COREN 2002

  • These allowed him to make some significant discoveries about a section of the brain known as the medulla just at the top of the spinal cord.

    The Pawprints of History STANLEY COREN 2002

  • The medulla is a canal running through the middle of a strand of some types of hair.

    A Lincoln Rhyme eBook Boxed Set Jeffery Deaver 2001

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