ala

1. Zoology. A wing or winglike structure or part.
2. Anatomy. A flat, winglike anatomic process or part, especially of bone.
3. Botany. The flattened border of some stems, fruits, and seeds, or either one of the two side petals of certain flowers in the pea family.

[Latin āla, wing.]

1. An alcove or small room opening off the atrium of an ancient Roman house.
2. A small room on each side of a cella.

Wing-like portion of the ilium. Its thickened margin is called the iliac crest.

Pl. alae [L.] a winglike process, e.g. the cervical and caudal alae of nematodes; the wing-like structures at the esophageal and tail regions of the worm.

• a. cinerea — an area on the floor of the 4th ventricle; the trigonum nervus vagi of the medulla oblongata.
• a. lobuli centralis — a lobule of the rostral part of the cerebellar hemispheres that extends from the vermis.
• a. nasi — the wing of the nose; the cartilaginous flap on the outer side of either nostril.
• a. ossis illium — wing of the ilium.
• sacral a. — the lateral parts of the base of the sacrum which carry the articular surfaces for the ilium and the transverse processes of the last lumbar vertebra.
• a. spuria — the alula.