flocculus

[ flok-yuh-luhs ]

noun

, plural floc·cu·li [flok, -y, uh, -lahy].

1. floccule.
2. Astronomy. one of the bright or dark patches on the sun's surface, visible in a spectroheliogram.

flocculus

/ ˈflɒkjʊləs /

noun

1. a marking on the sun's surface or in its atmosphere, as seen on a spectroheliogram. It consists of calcium when lighter than the surroundings and of hydrogen when darker
2. anatomy a tiny ovoid prominence on each side of the cerebellum
3. another word for floccule

Word History and Origins

Origin of flocculus¹

From New Latin, dating back to 1790–1800; floccule

Example Sentences

Among the Mammalia the Monotremata have a cerebellum which shows, in addition to the central lobe of the lower vertebrates, a flocculus on each side, and the two halves of the cerebellum are united by a ventral commissure, the pons varolii.

From Project Gutenberg

In the Eutheria or mammals above the marsupials, the cerebellum gradually becomes more complex, owing to the appearance of lateral lobes between the flocculus and the vermis, as well as the paraflocculus on the outer side of the flocculus.

From Project Gutenberg

Each of these surfaces is again subdivided by fissures into smaller lobes, of which the most important are the amygdala or tonsil, which forms the lateral boundary of the anterior part of the vallecula, and the flocculus, which is situated immediately behind the middle peduncle of the cerebellum.

From Project Gutenberg

The cerebellum develops in the anterior part of the roof of the rhombencephalon as two lateral rudiments which unite in the mid line and so form a transverse bar similar to that seen in the adult lamprey; at the end of the second month the flocculus and paraflocculus become marked, and later on a series of transverse fissures occur dividing the various lobes.

From Project Gutenberg

Each flocculus, in describing its course, must give motion to the medium through which it is moving.

From Project Gutenberg