alveolus (redirected from mammary alveolus)

al·ve·o·lus  (l-v-ls)

n. pl. al·ve·o·li (-l)

1. A small angular cavity or pit, such as a honeycomb cell.

2. A tooth socket in the jawbone.

3. A tiny, thin-walled, capillary-rich sac in the lungs where the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place. Also called air sac.

---

[Latin, small hollow, diminutive of alveus, a hollow, from alvus, belly.]

---

alveolus [al-vee-ol-luss, -lie]

Noun

pl -li any small pit, cavity, or saclike dilation, such as a honeycomb cell, a tooth socket, or the tiny air sacs in the lungs [Latin: a little hollow]

---

alveolus  (l-v-ls)

Plural alveoli (l-v-l)

Any of the tiny air-filled sacs arranged in clusters in the lungs, in which the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place. Also called air sac.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	alveolus - a tiny sac for holding air in the lungs; formed by the terminal dilation of tiny air passageways air cell, air sac lung - either of two saclike respiratory organs in the chest of vertebrates; serves to remove carbon dioxide and provide oxygen to the blood sac - a structure resembling a bag in an animal
	2.	alveolus - a bony socket in the alveolar ridge that holds a tooth tooth socket socket - a bony hollow into which a structure fits alveolar process, alveolar ridge, gum ridge - a ridge that forms the borders of the upper and lower jaws and contains the sockets of the teeth