antrum

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
(ăn'trəm) pronunciation
n., pl., -tra (-trə).
  1. A cavity or chamber, especially one in a bone.
  2. Either of the sinuses in the bones of the upper jaw, opening into the nasal cavity.

[Late Latin, cavity in the body, from Latin, cave, from Greek antron.]

antral an'tral adj.

(ăn'trəm)
n., pl. -tra (-trə).
  1. A nearly closed cavity or chamber, especially in a bone.
  2. The pyloric end of the stomach, partially shut off during digestion from the cardiac end by sphincter muscles in the stomach wall.
an'tral (-trəl) adj.

Pertaining to the antrum; usually the reference is to the pyloric antrum of the stomach. See also pylorus.

  • a. peristalsis — responsible for the onward movement of ingesta through the pylorus; when the pylorus is closed the movements assist in the mixing and maceration of the stomach contents.
(an′trum)
n

A maxillary sinus. A cavity in the maxilla, lined by ciliated columnar epithelium, the inferior border of which approximates the apices of the roots of the maxillary posterior teeth.

In biology, antrum is a general term for a cavity or chamber which may have specific meaning in reference to certain organs or sites in the body.

In vertebrates, it may mean for example:

  • antrum cardiacum, a dilation that occurs in the esophagus near the stomach (forestomach)
  • antrum follicularum, the cavity in the epithelium that envelops the oocyte
  • mastoid antrum, a cavity between the middle ear and temporal bone in the skull
  • pyloric antrum, the initial portion of the pyloric part of the stomach. This is what usually is referred to in terms of "antrum" in stomach related topics.
  • maxillary antrum or Antrum of Highmore, the maxillary sinus, a cavity in the maxilla and the largest of the paranasal sinuses

In invertebrates, it may mean for example:


Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:

Copyrights:

Mentioned in