reticulum
Americannoun
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a network; any reticulated system or structure.
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Anatomy.
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a network of intercellular fibers in certain tissues.
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a network of structures in the endoplasm or nucleus of certain cells.
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Zoology. the second stomach of ruminating animals, between the rumen and the omasum.
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(initial capital letter) the Net, a southern constellation between Dorado and Hydrus.
noun
noun
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any fine network, esp one in the body composed of cells, fibres, etc
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the second compartment of the stomach of ruminants, situated between the rumen and psalterium
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The second division of the stomach in ruminant animals, which together with the rumen contains microorganisms that digest fiber. The reticulum's contents are regurgitated for further chewing as part of the cud.
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See more at ruminant
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of reticulum
First recorded in 1650–60; from Latin rēticulum “little net”; see reticle
Explanation
A reticulum is a natural structure that resembles a net or web, like the veins in a leaf or the network of fibers in a cell. You can use reticulum for anything in nature with a structure that looks like a net. In fact, the Latin meaning of the word is "a little net." Reticulum has been adopted for many scientific uses, including the name of a net-like constellation. A cow or other ruminant's second (of four) stomachs is also called a reticulum, from the honeycomb shape of its lining.
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:
Their research shows that cells actively reshape the endoplasmic reticulum, or ER, one of the largest and most complex structures inside the cell.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 3, 2026
This allows the cytoskeleton to act as a highly dynamic intracellular wiring network to transmit ion-based information from the membrane to the intracellular organelles, including mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum and the nucleus.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 24, 2024
Researchers at LMU and Stanford University reveal how cells regenerate protein factories at endoplasmic reticulum.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 23, 2024
Additionally, the team discovered a unique mechanism where the VCP complex extracts the cleaved SREBP-1c protein from the endoplasmic reticulum.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 13, 2024
The tubercle becomes fibrous with the diminution in the number of its cells and the increase in the thickness of the reticulum, with the transformation of the latter into a homogeneous hyaline substance.
From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various
Dorado, the Sword Fish, lies east of Reticulum and west of Pictor.
From Astronomical Curiosities Facts and Fallacies by Gore, J. Ellard
They also lack endoplasmic reticula and do not synthesize proteins.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013
About 3° east of α Reticuli is the variable star R Doradus.
From Astronomical Curiosities Facts and Fallacies by Gore, J. Ellard
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.