‖ vallecula
(væˈlɛkjʊlə)
Pl. -ulæ.
[Late L. vallecula, var. of L. vallicula, dim. of vallēs, vallis valley n. Cf. F. vallécule.]
1. Anat. A furrow, fissure, or fossa; spec. = valley n. 6.
| 1859 Todd's Cycl. Anat. V. 883 Valley, or vallecula, of Haller. 1875 Encycl. Brit. I. 871/2 This lobe forms a well-defined inferior vermiform process, which lies at the bottom of a deep fossa or vallecula. 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. IV. 782 The spaces between these [glosso-epiglottic] folds are named the valleculæ. |
2. Bot. A groove or channel; a sulcus or stria.
| 1856 Henslow Bot. Terms 211 Vallecula, a depressed space (interstice) between the primary ‘Ridges’ on the fruit of Umbelliferæ. |
Hence vaˈllecular a.
| 1875 Bennett & Dyer Sachs's Bot. 376 The vallecular canals, which correspond to the furrows, arise in the fundamental tissue by separation. |