septum

American  

[sep-tuhm] / ˈsɛp təm /

noun

Biology.

• septa
  plural

1. a dividing wall, membrane, or the like, in a plant or animal structure; dissepiment.

---

septum British  

/ ˈsɛptəm /

noun

1. biology anatomy a dividing partition between two tissues or cavities

2. a dividing partition or membrane between two cavities in a mechanical device

---

septum Scientific  

/ sĕp′təm /

• septa
  plural

1. A thin wall or membrane that separates two parts or structures in an organism. Septae separate the chambers of the heart and subdivide the hyphae of some fungi.

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• septa
  plural

Etymology

Origin of septum

1710–20; < Latin sēptum, variant of saeptum enclosure, noun use of neuter of saeptus (past participle of saepīre to fence); akin to saepēs hedge, fence

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

septum septa

A hefty Moche nose ornament of gold and silver would have been quite the weight to carry from one’s septum, especially with the intricately intertwined creatures that wrap around its edge.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

Critically, the lateral septum shares this information with the dopamine-producing regions we would normally associate with reward.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026

Nathan Cohen, a 19-year-old college sophomore, had a septorhinoplasty in late December to fix a deviated septum and slightly alter the tip of his nose.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 7, 2026

In the week before the implant-removal operation at Guy's Hospital in London, she said her septum "came apart" and would not stop bleeding.

From BBC ● Jan. 21, 2026

Breathing difficult since childhood due to recurrent throat infections and deviated septum in patient’s nose.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

The fibers also lack internal walls called septa that often divide such tubes into cells.

From Scientific American ● Sep. 24, 2021

In most phyla of fungi, tiny holes in the septa allow for the rapid flow of nutrients and small molecules from cell to cell along the hypha.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015

They took cartilage cells from the patients’ nasal septa, grew them on a collagen membrane, shaped them according to the needs of the patient, and implanted the tissue back into the nose.

From Forbes ● Apr. 12, 2014

The septa are physical extensions of the myocardium lined with endocardium.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013

"Come here, Sansa," he said, not unkindly, when the septa had gone for her sister.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin