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ANATOMICAL SPHINCTER
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A ring of muscle that contracts to close an opening
Synonyms:
anatomical sphincter; sphincter; sphincter muscle
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("anatomical sphincter" is a kind of...):
muscle; musculus (one of the contractile organs of the body)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "anatomical sphincter"):
physiological sphincter (a sphincter that is not recognizable at autopsy because its resting arrangement cannot be distinguished from adjacent tissue)
anal sphincter; musculus sphincter ani; sphincter ani (the sphincter muscle of the anus)
musculus sphincter urethrae; urethral sphincter (a striated sphincter muscle that constricts the urethra)
bladder sphincter; musculus sphincter vesicae (the sphincter muscle of the urinary bladder; made up of a thickened muscular layer of bladder around the urethral opening)
musculus sphincter ductus choledochi (the smooth muscle sphincter of the common bile duct)
musculus sphincter ductus pancreatici (the smooth muscle sphincter of the main pancreatic duct)
musculus sphincter pupillae; pupillary sphincter (a ring of smooth muscle surrounding the iris)
musculus sphincter pylori; pyloric sphincter; pyloric valve (the sphincter muscle of the pylorus that separates the stomach from the duodenum)
