columella

American  

[kol-yuh-mel-uh] / ˌkɒl yəˈmɛl ə /

noun

Biology.

plural

columellae

1. 1. any of various small, columnlike structures of animals or plants; rod or axis.

   2. Mycology. a small central column of sterile tissue within the sporangium of certain fungi, liverworts, and mosses.

2. a small bone in the ear of amphibians, reptiles, and birds.

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columella British  

/ ˌkɒljʊˈmɛlə /

noun

1. biology

   1. the central part of the spore-producing body of some fungi and mosses

   2. any similar columnar structure

2. Also called: columella auris.  a small rodlike bone in the middle ear of frogs, reptiles, and birds that transmits sound to the inner ear: homologous to the mammalian stapes

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Other Word Forms

• columellar adjective
• columellate adjective
• postcolumellar adjective
• pseudocolumellar adjective

Etymology

Origin of columella

1575–85; < Latin: small column, equivalent to colum- (variant of column-, stem of columna column ) + -ella -elle

Example Sentences

The columella and the squamosal extend posteriorly beyond the limits of the braincase.

From A Revision of Snakes of the Genus Conophis (Family Colubridae, from Middle America) by Wellman, John

A part of the columella and capillitium, � 60.

From The North American Slime-Moulds A Descriptive List of All Species of Myxomycetes Hitherto Reported from the Continent of North America, with Notes on Some Extra-Limital Species by MacBride, Thomas H. (Thomas Huston)

It is the cartilagenous part of the columella that connects with the external sound detecting mechanism.

From A Revision of Snakes of the Genus Conophis (Family Colubridae, from Middle America) by Wellman, John

A. effusa may be distinguished from all others by the columella being nearly obsolete; this part existing only in the two terminal whorls of the spire.

From Zoological Illustrations, Volume III or Original Figures and Descriptions of New, Rare, or Interesting Animals by Swainson, William

Capsule globose, depressed, 5-lobed, 5-celled, loculicidal, but the valves cohering with the columella.

From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa