theca

American  

[thee-kuh] / ˈθi kə /

noun

thecae plural

1. a case or receptacle.

2. Botany, Mycology.

   1. a sac, cell, or capsule.

   2. a sporangium.

3. Anatomy, Zoology. a case or sheath enclosing an organ, structure, etc., as the horny covering of an insect pupa or the loose membrane covering the spinal cord.

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theca British  

/ ˈθiːkə /

noun

1. botany an enclosing organ, cell, or spore case, esp the capsule of a moss

2. zoology a hard outer covering, such as the cup-shaped container of a coral polyp

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theca Scientific  

/ thē′kə /

thecae plural

1. A case, covering, or sheath, such as the pollen sac of an anther, the spore case of a moss, or the outer covering of the pupa of certain insects.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• thecal
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• thecae
  plural

Etymology

Origin of theca

1655–65; < Latin thēca, from Greek thḗkē “case, cover,” akin to tithénai “to place, put”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

theca thecae

Supporting granulosa and theca cells in the growing follicles produce estrogens, until the level of estrogen in the bloodstream is high enough that it triggers negative feedback at the hypothalamus and pituitary.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013

Just as the hormones produced by the granulosa and theca cells of the ovary “drive” the follicular and luteal phases of the ovarian cycle, they also control the three distinct phases of the menstrual cycle.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013

These gonadotropins leave the pituitary and travel through the bloodstream to the ovaries, where they bind to receptors on the granulosa and theca cells of the follicles.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013

FSH stimulates the growth of a tertiary follicle, and LH stimulates the production of estrogen by granulosa and theca cells.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013

The theca is greatly distended over a variable extent of the cord; the cerebro-spinal fluid is increased in quantity and is under considerable tension; and the cord itself presents a shrunken appearance.

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

In a general way, inflammation and other affections of bursae and thecae are considered very similar to like affections of joints.

From Lameness of the Horse Veterinary Practitioners' Series, No. 1 by Lacroix, John Victor

No difficulty is encountered in recognizing these conditions even where considerable organization of tissue overlying distended thecae occurs.

From Lameness of the Horse Veterinary Practitioners' Series, No. 1 by Lacroix, John Victor

However, in general practice a classification on an etiological basis is probably more practical and we shall consider inflammation of bursae and thecae as infectious and noninfectious.

From Lameness of the Horse Veterinary Practitioners' Series, No. 1 by Lacroix, John Victor

This is the rachis—and down here below this, is the rhizoma; and the little seed places that come on the back of the frond, are thecae.

From The Old Helmet, Volume I by Warner, Susan

Inflammation of bursae and thecae may be classified on a chronological basis with propriety because the duration of such affections, in many cases, materially modifies the result.

From Lameness of the Horse Veterinary Practitioners' Series, No. 1 by Lacroix, John Victor