medulla

1 a white fatty substance that forms a medullary sheath around the axis cylinder of some nerve fibers [syn: myelin, myeline]

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, bulb]

3 the inner part of an organ or structure in plant or animal [ant: cortex] [also: medullae (pl)]

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

IPA: /mɛ'dʌlə/

Noun

1. The soft inner part of something, especially the pith of a fruit.
2. The inner substance of various organs and structures, especially the marrow of bones.
3. The medulla oblongata.
4. The internal tissue of a plant.

Derived terms

• medullar
• medullary
• medulloblastoma

Latin

Noun

1. marrow

medullā

Inflection

Derived terms

• medullula italbrac diminutive

Medulla refers to the middle of something, and derives from the Latin word for 'marrow' (the Latin equivalent of the Greek stem myelo). In medicine it refers to either bone marrow, the spinal cord, or more generally, the middle part of a structure (as opposed to the cortex). Examples of its use include:

• the medulla oblongata, a part of the brain stem
• the renal medulla, a part of the kidney
• the adrenal medulla, a part of the adrenal gland
• medulla ossea, the marrow inside the bone
• medulla spinalis, another term for spinal cord
• Medulla of ovary

Non-medical uses of the term include:

• Medúlla, a 2004 music album by Icelandic singer Björk.
• Medulla, Florida, a U.S. city
• Las Médulas, Ancient Roman gold mines in León, Spain, UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Medula the Deviant, Marvel Comics character
• Medulla Grammatice or Medulla Grammaticae, a fifteenth-century Latin-Middle English dictionary