utricle

[yoo-tri-kuhl]

noun

1. a small sac or baglike body, as an air-filled cavity in a seaweed.

2. Botany.,  a thin bladderlike pericarp or seed vessel.

3. Anatomy.,  the larger of two sacs in the membranous labyrinth of the internal ear.

utricle

/ juːˈtrɪkjʊləs, ˈjuːtrɪkəl /

noun

1. anatomy the larger of the two parts of the membranous labyrinth of the internal ear Compare saccule

2. botany the bladder-like one-seeded indehiscent fruit of certain plants, esp sedges

Other Word Forms

• utricular adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of utricle¹

1725–35; < Latin utriculus, diminutive of uter bag; -cle ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of utricle¹

C18: from Latin ūtriculus diminutive of ūter bag

Example Sentences

In those individuals, Balaban says, further tests implicated damage to the ear's otolith organs, the utricle and the saccule, key to sensing gravity.

Read more on Science Magazine

The utricle and the saccule also have sensory hair cells that alert your brain when you have changed your position.

Read more on Washington Post

In two areas of the inner ear, the saccule and the utricle, are hairlike cells topped with structures called otoliths.

Read more on New York Times

The sacs of the internal ear, known as the utricle and saccule, receive the impulses of the base of the stapes.

Read more on Project Gutenberg

Sepals 5, united below in an indurated cup, enclosing the utricle.

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Related Words

• bacterium 
• egg 
• germ 
• unit