What is "submucosa"

1. n. the connective tissue beneath mucous membrane

2. [also: submucosae (pl)]

The submucosa (or tela submucosa) is a thin layer of tissue in various organs of the gastrointestinal, respiratory, and genitourinary tracts. It is the layer of dense irregular connective tissue that supports the mucosa ( mucous membrane) and joins it to the muscular layer, the bulk of overlying smooth muscle (fibers running circularly within layer of longitudinal muscle).

The submucosa (sub- + mucosa) is to a mucous membrane what the subserosa (sub- + serosa) is to a serous membrane.