meniscus

meniscus definition - medical

me·nis·cus (mə-nĭsˈkəs)

noun pl. me·nis·cus·es or me·nis·ci (-nĭsˈī, -kī, -kē)
  1. A crescent-shaped body.
  2. A concavo-convex lens.
  3. The curved upper surface of a nonturbulent liquid in a container that is concave if the liquid wets the walls and convex if it does not.
  4. A disk of cartilage that acts as a cushion between the ends of bones in a joint.

Related Forms:

  • me·nisˈcal (-kəl), me·nisˈcateˌ (-kătˌ), me·nisˈcoidˌ (-koidˌ), menˌis·coiˈdal (mĕnˌĭs-koidˈl) adjective

The American Heritage® Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.