Parenchyma
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 The functional tissue of an organ as distinguished from the connective and supporting tissue. countable, uncountable
"Previously blood and air had been thought to mingle freely in the fleshy parenchyma of the lungs, but the microscope now revealed the membranous alveoli at the ends of the tracheo-bronchial ramifications."
- 2 animal tissue that constitutes the essential part of an organ as contrasted with e.g. connective tissue and blood vessels wordnet
- 3 The cellular tissue, typically soft and succulent, found chiefly in the softer parts of leaves, pulp of fruits, bark and pith of stems, etc. countable, uncountable
- 4 the primary tissue of higher plants composed of thin-walled cells that remain capable of cell division even when mature; constitutes the greater part of leaves, roots, the pulp of fruits, and the pith of stems wordnet
- 5 Cellular tissue lying between the body wall and the organs of invertebrate animals lacking a coelom, such as flatworms. countable, uncountable
"[I]n a Sponge, the Parenchyma, it seems, is but a kind of mucous gelly, which is very easily and cleerly wash'd away."
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"Previously blood and air had been thought to mingle freely in the fleshy parenchyma of the lungs, but the microscope now revealed the membranous alveoli at the ends of the tracheo-bronchial ramifications."
Etymology
From Ancient Greek παρέγχῠμα (parénkhŭma, “anything poured in beside”), from πᾰρᾰ- (pără-, “beside”) + ἔγχῠμα (énkhŭma, “instillation, content of a vessel”), given by the Greek anatomist Erasistratus to the peculiar substance of the lungs, liver, kidneys, and spleen, as if formed separately by the veins that run into them.
Related phrases
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.