glomerulus

American  

[gloh-mer-yuh-luhs, gluh-] / gloʊˈmɛr yə ləs, glə- /

noun

Anatomy.

glomeruli plural

1. a compact cluster of capillaries.

2. Also called Malpighian tuft.  a tuft of convoluted capillaries in the nephron of a kidney, functioning to remove certain substances from the blood before it flows into the convoluted tubule.

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glomerulus British  

/ ɡlɒˈmɛrʊləs /

noun

1. a knot of blood vessels in the kidney projecting into the capsular end of a urine-secreting tubule

2. any cluster or coil of blood vessels, nerve fibres, etc, in the body

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glomerulus Scientific  

/ glō-mĕr′yə-ləs /

glomeruli plural

1. A knot of highly permeable capillaries located within the Bowman's capsule of a nephron. Waste products are filtered from the blood in the glomerulus, initiating the process of urine formation.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• glomerular
  adjective

Inflected Forms

noun

• glomeruli
  plural

Etymology

Origin of glomerulus

1855–60; < New Latin, equivalent to Latin glomer- (stem of glomus ) ball-shaped mass + -ulus -ule

Example Sentences

There are three steps in the formation of urine: glomerular filtration, which occurs in the glomerulus; tubular reabsorption, which occurs in the renal tubules; and tubular secretion, which also occurs in the renal tubules.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

First, the nephrons filter blood that runs through the capillary network in the glomerulus.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Once the efferent arteriole exits the glomerulus, it forms the peritubular capillary network, which surrounds and interacts with parts of the renal tubule.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

The olfactory bulb is composed of neural clusters called glomeruli, and each glomerulus receives signals from one type of olfactory receptor, so each glomerulus is specific to one odorant.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

The branch that exits the glomerulus is called the efferent arteriole.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022