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Definition

noun, singular: lamella

(general)

Thin structures resembling a plate.

(cell biology)

Intergrana thylakoids, i.e. stroma thylakoids that connect grana (stacks of thylakoid discs).

(botany)

(1) Plate-like layers of pectin that cement cell walls of adjacent plant cells, and involved in forming plasmodesmata between cells and rendering stability in plants

(2) Thin scales or plate-like structures growing from the petals in certain flowers.

(3) Thin sheets of cells standing up along the midrib of leaves in mosses.

(mycology)

Radiating leaflike spore-producing structures beneath the cap of a mushroom or similar fungus; gills of the mushroom.

(zoology)

(1) Bony concentric layers surrounding the haversian canals in bone.

(2) Thin layers or pages in a gill book involved in respiration, as in horseshoe crabs

(3) Structures involved in respiration, and are of two types: the primary and secondary gill lamellae that increase the amount of oxygen intake of the blood in fish.

(4) Miniature ridges inside the bills of water-feeding ducks (Anatidae) and water birds (e.g. Phoenicopteridae), and serve as filters during feeding.

(5) Flanges or teeth-forming barriers inside the aperture of a snail’s shell.

(6) Precursors of the prepuce during the development of urinary and reproductive organs in humans.

(medicine)

Small disks of gelatin mixed with a medicinal substance to treat conjuntiva.

Supplement

Word origin: Latin lāmella, small thin plate, diminutive of lāmina, thin plate.

Related forms: lamellar (adjective).
Related phrases: middle lamellae (botany).