pleura
Americannoun
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Anatomy, Zoology. a delicate serous membrane investing each lung in mammals and folded back as a lining of the corresponding side of the thorax.
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plural of pleuron.
noun
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the thin transparent serous membrane enveloping the lungs and lining the walls of the thoracic cavity
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the plural of pleuron
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of pleura
1655–65; < New Latin < Greek pleurá (singular) side, rib
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The layer of tissue that covers the lung and dips into spaces is called the visceral pleura.
From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022
To check for them, doctors look at the pleura, the membrane that envelops each lung.
From Scientific American • Jun. 11, 2020
Under normal conditions, viewers see a reflection of the pleura as a series of equidistant horizontal lines, called A lines, throughout those organs.
From Scientific American • Jun. 11, 2020
Therefore, as you breathe, the pleural fluid prevents the two layers of the pleura from rubbing against each other and causing damage due to friction.
From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013
The whole is invested with a thin, transparent membrane—a continuation of that lining the chest, named pleura.
From The American Reformed Cattle Doctor by Dadd, George
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.