Diverticulum

//ˌdɑɪ.vɜːˈtɪ.kjə.ləm// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A small out-pouching of an organ wall such as the large intestine or urinary bladder.

    "Diverticula are small, light-bulb-shaped pouches in the bowel wall, resulting from the tissue in the gut bulging outwards under pressure."

  2. 2
    a herniation through the muscular wall of a tubular organ (especially the colon) wordnet

Example

More examples

"Diverticula are small, light-bulb-shaped pouches in the bowel wall, resulting from the tissue in the gut bulging outwards under pressure."

Etymology

From Latin dīverticulum, alternative form of dēverticulum (“byroad; deviation”), from dēvertō (“turn away, turn aside”).

Related phrases

Meckel's diverticulumZenker's diverticulumpancreatic diverticulumlarge intestine

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.