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

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

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

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

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

Calyptra, ka-lip′tra, n. a hood, covering, esp. that of the theca or capsule of mosses.—adjs.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various

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 Lacroix, John Victor

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

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 Lacroix, John Victor

There is a tendency for the branches to become reduced in number, and for the serial thecae to become directed more and more upwards towards the line of the nema.

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

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