Library / English Dictionary

PLEURA

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: pleurae   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The thin serous membrane around the lungs and inner walls of the chest

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("pleura" is a kind of...):

serosa; serous membrane (a thin membrane lining the closed cavities of the body; has two layers with a space between that is filled with serous fluid)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pleura"):

parietal pleura (pleura that lines the inner chest walls and covers the diaphragm)

visceral pleura (pleura that covers the lungs)

Holonyms ("pleura" is a part of...):

pleural cavity (the cavity in the thorax that contains the lungs and heart)

Derivation:

pleural (of or relating to the pleura or the walls of the thorax)

Credits

 Context examples: 

A primitive neuroectodermal tumor (small round blue cell tumor) of the thorax which can involve the periosteum, thoracic wall and/or pleura though it spares the lung parenchyma.

(Askin Tumor, NCI Thesaurus)

The total system of structures outside the lungs that move as a part of breathing; it includes all structures from the skin to the parietal pleura.

(Chest wall, NCI Thesaurus)

A synthetic butylamino-benzoate derivative related to tetracaine and a peripherally acting antitussive, nonnarcotic Benzonatate reduces the cough reflex by anesthetizing and depressing mechanoreceptors in the respiratory passages, lungs, and pleura.

(Benzonatate, NCI Thesaurus)

Administration within the pleura.

(Intrapleural Route of Administration, Food and Drug Administration/CDISC)

Compared to adenomas, adenocarcinomas show greater cytological atypia, increased frequency of mitoses, regional variation in growth pattern, more papillary structures, have size over 5 mm in diameter, show invasion of vessels, large airways or pleura, as well as lymphatic and hematogenous metastases.

(Adenocarcinoma of the Mouse Pulmonary System, NCI Thesaurus/MMHCC)

Surgery to remove a diseased lung, part of the pericardium (membrane covering the heart), part of the diaphragm (muscle between the lungs and the abdomen), and part of the parietal pleura (membrane lining the chest).

(Extrapleural pneumonectomy, NCI Dictionary)

A small lobe sometimes found on the upper part of the right lung, formed by an infolding of the pleura and separated from the rest of the upper lobe by a deep groove lodging the azygos vein.

(Azygos Lobe, NCI Thesaurus)