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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Vallecula

Vallecula \Val*lec"u*la\, n.; pl. Vallecul[ae]. [NL., dim. fr. L. vallis, valles, a valley.]

  1. (Anat.) A groove; a fossa; as, the vallecula, or fossa, which separates the hemispheres of the cerebellum.

  2. (Bot.) One of the grooves, or hollows, between the ribs of the fruit of umbelliferous plants.

Wiktionary
vallecula

n. (context medical English) A depression or groove in the anatomy.

WordNet
vallecula
  1. n. (anatomy) any furrow or channel on a bodily structure or part [syn: groove]

  2. [also: valleculae (pl)]

Wikipedia
Vallecula

Vallecula is an anatomic term for a crevice, depression, or furrow in something. There are a variety of valleculae in the human body, including one between the hemispheres of the brain, on the inferior surface of the cerebellum, in which the medulla oblongata is located ( vallecula of cerebellum). Other common valleculae are: in the nail matrix, and in the throat.

Used alone, the term "vallecula" usually refers to the epiglottic vallecula.

"Vallecula" comes from the Latin word , meaning "valley", and is in the diminutive form of the word, so a vallecula is literally a "little valley".