pleura

American  

[ploor-uh] / ˈplʊər ə /

noun

plural

pleurae

1. Anatomy, Zoology. a delicate serous membrane investing each lung in mammals and folded back as a lining of the corresponding side of the thorax.

2. plural of pleuron.

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pleura British  

/ ˈplʊərə /

noun

1. the thin transparent serous membrane enveloping the lungs and lining the walls of the thoracic cavity

2. the plural of pleuron

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pleura Scientific  

/ plr′ə /

plural

pleurae

1. A membrane that encloses each lung and lines the chest cavity.

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Other Word Forms

• pleural adjective

Etymology

Origin of pleura

1655–65; < New Latin < Greek pleurá (singular) side, rib

Example Sentences

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

Since the parietal pleura is attached to the thoracic wall, the natural elasticity of the chest wall opposes the inward pull of the lungs.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

On the contrary, ossification of the fibrous inflammatory products of the pleura, pericardium, and peritoneum are instances of a pathological bone-formation, analogous in its nature to that met with in the intima of the aorta.

From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various