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medulla Definition

me·dulla (mi dul′ə)

noun pl. -·las or -·lae-ē

  1. Anat.
    1. medulla oblongata
    2. the inner substance of an organ, as of the kidney or adrenal gland
    3. bone marrow
  2. Bot. pith (sense )

Etymology: L, marrow, pith: see smear

medulla Related Forms
med′·ul·lar′y (med′ə ler′ē, mej′-; mi dul′ər ē) adjective
medulla Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • call: The inside layer of the adrenal gland is called the adrenal medulla.

Converse of subject

  • secrete: The primary hormone secreted by the adrenal medulla is epinephrine.

Adjective modifier

  • adrenal: A hormone released by the adrenal medulla, located close to the kidneys.
  • ventral: Our present focus of research is thus to examine the mechanisms and sources of ATP release from the ventral medulla much more closely.
  • inner: In the image below, the outer cortex is blue and the inner medulla of this pig adrenal is greenish.
  • renal: This minimizes the loss of urea from the renal medulla, and allows the concentration of urea in urine.

Modifies a noun

  • oblongata: This is a paired tubular structure on both sides of the medulla oblongata which is illustrated in the diagrams below.

Noun used with modifier

  • adrenal: So far no case of " black adenoma " associated with a proliferative condition of the ipsilateral adrenal medulla has ben described.

Preposition: in

  • brain: Nicotine affects the medulla in the brain to increase heart rate.