What is "caruncle"

Caruncle \Car"un*cle\, ||Caruncula \Ca*run"cu*la\, n. [L. caruncula a little piece of flesh, dim. of caro flesh.]

1. (Anat.) A small fleshy prominence or excrescence; especially the small, reddish body, the caruncula lacrymalis, in the inner angle of the eye.

2. (Bot.) An excrescence or appendage surrounding or near the hilum of a seed.

3. (Zo["o]l.) A naked, flesh appendage, on the head of a bird, as the wattles of a turkey, etc.

n. 1 A small, fleshy excrescence that is a normal part of an animal's anatomy 2 A similar excrescence near the hilum of some seeds

n. an outgrowth on a plant or animal such as a fowl's wattle or a protuberance near the hilum of certain seeds [syn: caruncula]

Caruncle ( Latin: caruncula "wart") may refer to:

• In botany:
  • an elaiosome (fleshy structure attached to the seed), especially in the plant family Euphorbiaceae
• In animal anatomy:
  • prostomium, the sensory organ of Annelid worms
  • the wattle (anatomy), cockscomb, or snood of some birds
  • small fleshy outgrowths on the face or neck of birds
• In human anatomy:
  • sublingual caruncle, an area on the tongue
  • Lacrimal caruncle, a small, red portion of the corner of the eye that contains modified sebaceous and sweat glands (See Ciaccio's glands)
  • various small fleshy excrescences (normal or abnormal outgrowths)

A caruncle is defined as 'a small, fleshy excrescence that is a normal part of an animal's anatomy'. Within this definition, caruncles in birds include wattles (or dewlaps), snoods and earlobes. The term caruncle is derived from Latin 'caruncula', the diminutive of 'carō', flesh.