| vestibular organ | Collective term for the utricle, saccule, and saemicircular ducts of the membranous labyrinth, each having a single patch of ciliated receptor epithelium innervated by the vestibular nerve: macula of sacculus, macula of utriculus, and cristae of the saemicircular ducts. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| annulospiral organ | One of two types of sensory nerve ending associated with a neuromuscular spindle (the other being the flower-spray ending); after entering the muscle spindle, the fibre divides into two flat ribbon-like branches that wind themselves in rings or spirals about the intrafusal muscle fibres. Synonym: annulospiral organ. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| auditory organ | Archaic term for gustatory organ. (05 Mar 2000) |
| bojanus organ | <zoology> A glandular organ of bivalve mollusca, serving in part as a kidney. Origin: From Bojanus, the discoverer. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| vestibulocochlear organ | The external, middle, and internal ear. Synonym: organum vestibulocochleare. (05 Mar 2000) |
| vestigial organ | A rudimentary structure in humans corresponding to a functional structure or organ in the lower animals. (05 Mar 2000) |
| visual organ | The eye and its adnexa. Synonym: organum visus, organ of vision. (05 Mar 2000) |
| vomeronasal organ | A specialised part of the olfactory system located anteriorly in the nasal cavity within the nasal septum. Chemosensitive cells of the vomeronasal organ project via the vomeronasal nerve to the accessory olfactory bulb. The primary function of this organ appears to be in sensing pheromones which regulate reproductive and other social behaviours. While the structure has been thought absent in higher primate adults, data now suggests it may be present in adult humans. (12 Dec 1998) |
| Golgi tendon organ | <cell biology, physiology> A proprioceptive sensory nerve ending embedded among the fibres of a tendon, often near the musculotendinous junction; it is compressed and activated by any increase of the tendon's tension, caused either by active contraction or passive stretch of the corresponding muscle. Synonym: neurotendinous organ, neurotendinous spindle. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Chievitz' organ | A normal epithelial structure, possibly a neurotransmitter, found at the angle of the mandible with branches of the buccal nerve. (05 Mar 2000) |
| gustatory organ | Located in the papillae of the mucous membrane of the tongue, chiefly in the vallate papillae. Synonym: organum gustus, organ of taste. (05 Mar 2000) |
| rosenmuller's organ | <anatomy> The parovarium. Origin: So named from its first describer, J. C. Rosenmuller, a German anatomist. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| wandering organ | An organ with loose attachments, permitting its displacement. Synonym: floating organ, ptotic organ. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Weber's organ | A minute pouch in the prostate opening on the summit of the seminal colliculus, the analogue of the uterus and vagina in the female, being the remains of the fused caudal ends of the paramesonephric ducts. Synonym: utriculus prostaticus, masculine uterus, Morgagni's sinus, sinus pocularis, uterus masculinus, vagina masculina, vesica prostatica, Weber's organ. (05 Mar 2000) |
| multiple organ failure | A progressive condition usually characterised by combined failure of the lungs, liver, kidney, and clotting mechanisms, usually postinjury or postoperative. (12 Dec 1998) |
| Corti's organ | A prominent ridge of highly specialised epithelium in the floor of the cochlear duct overlying the basilar membrane of cochlea, containing one inner row and three outer rows of hair cells, or cells of Corti (the auditory receptor cells innervated by the cochlear nerve) supported by various columnar cells: the pillars of Corti, cells of Hensen, and cells of Claudius; the spiral organ is partly overhung by an awning-like shelf, the tectorial membrane, the free marginal zone of which is covered by a gelatinous substance in which the stereocilia of the outer hair cells are embedded. Synonym: organum spirale, acoustic papilla, Corti's organ. (05 Mar 2000) |