bulla
[boo l-uh, buhl-uh]
- a seal attached to an official document, as a papal bull.
- an ancient Roman pendant, consisting of a rounded box containing an amulet.
- Pathology. a large vesicle.
- Zoology. a blisterlike or bubblelike prominence of a bone, as that of the tympanic bone in the skull of certain mammals.
Show More
Origin of bulla
1840–50; < Latin: bubble, also stud, boss, knob (whence Medieval Latin bulla official seal)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
abscesssoreweltulcercystpimplecarbunclewalewealsacbubbleburnvesiclecankerboilblainvesicationfuruncleblebpustuleExamples from the Web for bullae
Historical Examples
Most of these characters have to do with degree of inflation of the bullae.
American WeaselsE. Raymond Hall
The bullae are less inflated even than in the mink, subgenus Lutreola.
American WeaselsE. Raymond Hall
The bullae are, therefore, relative to the basilar length, longer in primulina.
American WeaselsE. Raymond Hall
Otherwise, the bullae agree with those of the type specimen.
American WeaselsE. Raymond Hall
Specimens from five miles south of Cotopaxi also have the bullae more flattened ventrally.
Geographic Variation in the Pocket Gopher, Thomys bottae, in ColoradoPhillip M. Youngman
bulla
- a leaden seal affixed to a papal bull, having a representation of Saints Peter and Paul on one side and the name of the reigning pope on the other
- an ancient Roman rounded metal or leather box containing an amulet, worn around the neck
- pathol another word for blister (def. 1)
- anatomy a rounded bony projection
Show More
Word Origin
C19: from Latin: round object, bubble
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for bullae
bulla
n.
1876, from Latin bulla (plural bullae), literally "bubble" (see bull (n.2)).
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
bulla
(bul′ə)- A large blister or vesicle of pathological origin.
- A bubblelike structure.
Show More
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.