What is "infundibulum"

Infundibulum \In`fun*dib"u*lum\, n.; pl. L. Infundibula, E. Infundibulums. [L., a funnel, from infundere to pour in or into. See Infuse.]

1. (Anat.) A funnel-shaped or dilated organ or part; as, the infundibulum of the brain, a hollow, conical process, connecting the floor of the third ventricle with the pituitary body; the infundibula of the lungs, the enlarged terminations of the bronchial tubes.

2. (Zo["o]l.)

   1. A central cavity in the Ctenophora, into which the gastric sac leads.

   2. The siphon of Cephalopoda. See Cephalopoda.

1799 in the anatomical sense, from Latin infundibulum, literally "a funnel," from infundere "to pour into" (see infuse) + -bulum, suffix forming names of instruments. In some cases a loan-translation into Latin of Greek khoane "funnel." Related: Infundibular.

n. (context anatomy English) A funnel-shaped cavity or organ.

1. n. any of various funnel-shaped parts of the body (but especially the hypophyseal stalk)

2. [also: infundibula (pl)]

An infundibulum (Latin for funnel; plural, infundibula) is a funnel-shaped cavity or organ.

The infundibulum (also known as conus arteriosus) is a conical pouch formed from the upper and left angle of the right ventricle in the chordate heart, from which the pulmonary trunk arises. It develops from the bulbus cordis.

A tendinous band, extends upward from the right atrioventricular fibrous ring and connects the posterior surface of the infundibulum to the aorta. The infundibulum is the entrance from the right ventricle into the pulmonary artery and pulmonary trunk. The wall of the infundibulum is smooth.

Infundibulum is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Trochidae, the top snails.

The infundibulum of a tooth is the funnel-like center that is filled with cementum and capped with enamel. The funnel is widest at the top (crown) which is the grinding (occlusal) surface. The infundibulum is also known as the dental cup. Simple tooth infundibula occur most notably in the incisors of horses and other equines. But also occurs in the premolars and molars of ruminants: camels, deer, horses and all bovids (cattle, bison, and buffalo). The infundibula found in ruminants can get quite complex some with two funneling centers, and with multiple folding in the sides of the cup. These folds produce greater amounts of enamel in vertical curtains that substantially increase the durability of the tooth. The cheek teeth of elephants express this in a slightly different form with the vertical curtains of enamel coming in from the sides and meeting in the middle.

In horses and most equines the crosssection of the tooth at the grinding (occlusal) surface shows the roughly circular or ovoid infundibulum as the incisor begins to wear. When the horse's incisor has grown in enough to connect with the incisor in the other jaw (lower jaw with upper), then wear begins as the horse grinds its teeth back and forth. As the enamel is worn away and the dentin is exposed, the ring structure of the tooth is visible. There is the outer casing of enamel, then the dentine, then the inner ring of enamel that is the edge of the infundibulum, and then the cementum center which is darker. The rings first appear when the horse's tooth has been worn level at about age 6 to 8. A secondary darker line often appears between the infundibulum and the front of the tooth in the middle of the dentin there, this is sometimes called a dental star.