alveolus

[al-vee-uh-luh s] /ælˈvi ə ləs/

noun, plural alveoli

[al-vee-uh-lahy] /ælˈvi əˌlaɪ/ (Show IPA)

a little cavity, pit, or cell, as a cell of a honeycomb.

an air cell of the lungs, formed by the terminal dilation of tiny air passageways.

one of the terminal secretory units of a racemose gland.

the socket within the jawbone in which the root or roots of a tooth are set.

Origin

1700-10; < Latin, equivalent to alve(us) concave vessel + -olus -ole¹

Examples from the web for alveolus

The alveolar bone is the bone of the jaw which forms the alveolus around teeth.

British Dictionary definitions for alveolus

alveolus

/ælˈvɪələs/

noun (pl) -li (-ˌlaɪ)

any small pit, cavity, or saclike dilation, such as a honeycomb cell

any of the sockets in which the roots of the teeth are embedded

any of the tiny air sacs in the lungs at the end of the bronchioles, through which oxygen is taken into the blood

Word Origin

C18: from Latin: a little hollow, diminutive of alveus

Word Origin and History for alveolus

1706, from Latin alveolus "a tray, trough, basin; bed of a small river," diminutive of alvus "belly, stomach, paunch, bowels; hold of a ship," from PIE *aulo- "hole, cavity" (cf. Greek aulos "tube, pipe," Old Church Slavonic uliji, Lithuanian aulys "beehive" (hollow trunk), Armenian yli "pregnant").

alveolus in Medicine

alveolus al·ve·o·lus (āl-vē'ə-ləs)
n. pl. al·ve·o·li (-lī')
A small angular cavity or pit, such as a tooth socket or an air sac.

alveolus in Science

alveolus

(āl-vē'ə-ləs)
Plural alveoli (āl-vē'ə-lī')
Any of the tiny air-filled sacs arranged in clusters in the lungs, in which the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place. Also called air sac.