dictionary help| umbilicus | medical dictionary |
1. <anatomy> The depression, or mark, in the median line of the abdomen, which indicates the point where the umbilical cord separated from the foetus; the navel.
2. An ornamented or painted ball or boss fastened at each end of the stick on which manuscripts were rolled.
4. <zoology> A depression or opening in the center of the base of many spiral shells. Either one of the two apertures in the calamus of a feather.
5. <geometry> One of foci of an ellipse, or other curve. A point of a surface at which the curvatures of the normal sections are all equal to each other. A sphere may be osculatory to the surface in every direction at an umbilicus.
Synonyms: umbilic.
Origin: L. See Umbilic.
(01 Mar 1998)
umbilication, umbilicomammillary triangle, umbilicovesical fascia < Prev | Next > umbo, umbo membranae tympani
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