Glomus

//ˈɡloʊməs// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A fold of the mesothelium arising near the base of the mesentery in the pronephron, and containing a ball of blood vessels.
  2. 2
    A highly organized vessel that connects an artery and a vein (bypassing capillaries) in an extremity such as a finger, toe, or ear or in another organ that is not part of the body's core. The glomus regulates the flow of blood, controlling temperature in order to conserve heat in the organ and, indirectly, controls the blood pressure and other functions of the circulatory system.

    "The up-regulation of this enzyme in glomus cells of the carotid body in the neck enables the hypoxic animal to achieve a sustained increase in ventilation."

Example

More examples

"The up-regulation of this enzyme in glomus cells of the carotid body in the neck enables the hypoxic animal to achieve a sustained increase in ventilation."

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin glomus (“ball-shaped mass”).

Related phrases

glomus cellglomus tumorblood pressureblood vesselglomus caroticumglomus carotideumglomus choroideumglomus coccygeum

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