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  • bursa
    bursa
    noun
    a pouch, sac, or vesicle, especially a sac containing synovia, to facilitate motion, as between a tendon and a bone.
  • Bursa
    Bursa
    noun
    a city in NW Turkey in Asia: a former capital of the Ottoman Empire.
Synonyms

bursa

1 American  
[bur-suh] / ˈbɜr sə /

noun

  • bursae,
    plural
  • bursas
    plural
  1. Anatomy, Zoology. a pouch, sac, or vesicle, especially a sac containing synovia, to facilitate motion, as between a tendon and a bone.


Bursa 2 American  
[boor-sah] / burˈsɑ /

noun

  1. a city in NW Turkey in Asia: a former capital of the Ottoman Empire.


bursa 1 British  
/ ˈbɜːsə /

noun

  1. a small fluid-filled sac that reduces friction between movable parts of the body, esp at joints

  2. zoology any saclike cavity or structure

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Bursa 2 British  
/ ˈbɜːsə /

noun

  1. Former name: Brusa.  a city in NW Turkey: founded in the 2nd century bc ; seat of Bithynian kings. Pop: 1 413 000 (2005 est)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

bursa Scientific  
/ bûrsə /
  • bursae
    plural
  1. A flattened sac containing a lubricating fluid that reduces friction between two moving structures in the body, as a tendon and a bone.


bursa Cultural  
  1. A fluid-filled sac or cavity that reduces friction between the bones, ligaments, and tendons in the body's joints.


Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Etymology

Origin of bursa

First recorded in 1795–1805; from New Latin, Late Latin bursa “bag, pouch, purse,” from Greek býrsa “hide, leather”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

McVay said a few days later that a bursa sac in Nacua’s knee had burst.

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 9, 2024

Thomopoulos and Marshall explored this possibility by injecting corticosteroid microspheres into the bursa of their rat model after tendon injury.

From Science Daily Apr. 25, 2024

When the bursa was removed, strength of the undamaged tendon deteriorated and the bone quality deteriorated.

From Science Daily Apr. 25, 2024

Small fluid-filled sacs called bursa, which normally cushion the joint, may instead swell and ache.

From New York Times Dec. 29, 2022

When, in spite of palliative treatment, the affection persists or relapses, it is best to excise the bursa.

From Manual of Surgery Volume First: General Surgery. Sixth Edition. by Alexis Thomson

The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for November delivery fell 81 ringgit to 4,885 ringgit a ton.

From The Wall Street Journal Sep. 11, 2026

The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for November delivery rose 12 ringgit to 4,819 ringgit a ton, according to LSEG.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 17, 2026

The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for August delivery is 8 ringgit lower at 4,478 ringgit a ton.

From The Wall Street Journal May 25, 2026

The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for August delivery is 3 ringgit higher at 4,461 ringgit a ton.

From The Wall Street Journal May 22, 2026

In 1974, instead of reclaiming his roots by visiting Bursa, my father renounced them.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

Dolphins and other toothed whales, such as the beluga, echolocate via a specialized organ called the dorsal bursae, which sits at the top of their head, close to the blowhole.

From National Geographic Feb. 3, 2021

Irradiated chickens with no bursae produced no antibodies when injected with either bovine serum albumin, a protein derived from cattle, or the bacterium Brucella abortus.

From Nature Jan. 5, 2015

Subcutaneous bursae prevent friction between the skin and an underlying bone, submuscular bursae protect muscles from rubbing against a bone or another muscle, and a subtendinous bursa prevents friction between bone and a muscle tendon.

From Textbooks Jun. 19, 2013

Three major bursae and a fat pad are part of the complex joint that unites the femur and tibia of the leg.

From Textbooks Jun. 19, 2013

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

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