sulcus

American  

[suhl-kuhs] / ˈsʌl kəs /

noun

plural

sulci

1. a furrow or groove.

2. Anatomy. a groove or fissure, especially a fissure between two convolutions of the brain.

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sulcus British  

/ ˈsʌlkəs /

noun

1. a linear groove, furrow, or slight depression

2. any of the narrow grooves on the surface of the brain that mark the cerebral convolutions Compare fissure

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Other Word Forms

• subsulcus noun

Etymology

Origin of sulcus

1655–65; Latin: furrow

Compare meaning

How does sulcus compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• gyrus vs. sulcus

Example Sentences

These patterns were based on sulcus depth and cortical thickness, which describe the folding of the brain surface and the thickness of the brain's outer layer.

From Science Daily • Jan. 4, 2026

"You can think about the intraparietal sulcus as having two knobs on a radio dial: one that adjusts focusing and one that adjusts filtering," Ritz said.

From Science Daily • Mar. 8, 2024

This area, near the lateral cerebral sulcus, is an important region for the processing of acoustic energy so that it can be distinguished as speech, music, or noise.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

It runs along the posterior portion of the interventricular sulcus toward the apex of the heart, giving rise to branches that supply the interventricular septum and portions of both ventricles.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

Pus in the olfactory sulcus, on the upper surface of the middle turbinal posteriorly, and on the vault of the naso-pharynx, is suggestive of sphenoidal suppuration.

From Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Miles, Alexander