theca

American  

[thee-kuh] / ˈθi kə /

noun

plural

thecae

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 /

plural

thecae

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

• thecal
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of theca

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

Example Sentences

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

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 release of LH also stimulates the granulosa and theca cells of the follicles to produce the sex steroid hormone estradiol, a type of estrogen.

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

In the carpal region, the flexors of the phalanges are contained together in the carpal sheath, and this is the principal theca in the carpal region.

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