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.

---

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

---

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.

---

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

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 surge of LH also stimulates a change in the granulosa and theca cells that remain in the follicle after the oocyte has been ovulated.

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

Anus usually in the upper or oral half of the theca, and never aboral.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 10 "Echinoderma" to "Edward" by Various

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 John Victor Lacroix

Finally, in the latest family, the Monograptidae, the branches are theoretically reduced to one, the polypary is uniserial throughout, and all the thecae are directed outwards and upwards.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 3 "Gordon, Lord George" to "Grasses" by Various

Etiology and Occurrence.—The thecae and bursae of the leg are several in number.

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

The noninfectious inflammation of bursae and thecae usually result from contusions or strains and generally run their course without becoming infective in character, where vitality and resistance of the subject are normal.

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

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 John Victor Lacroix