fissure

(fĭsh'ər)
n.

1. A long narrow opening; a crack or cleft.
2. The process of splitting or separating; division.
3. A separation into subgroups or factions; a schism.
4. Anatomy. A normal groove or furrow, as in the liver or brain, that divides an organ into lobes or parts.
5. Medicine. A break in the skin, usually where it joins a mucous membrane, producing a cracklike sore or ulcer.

intr. & tr.v., -sured, -sur·ing, -sures.
To form a crack or cleft or cause a crack or cleft in.

[Middle English, cut, from Old French, from Latin fissūra, from fissus, split. See fissi-.]

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noun

1. A usually narrow partial opening caused by splitting and rupture: break, chink, cleavage, cleft, crack, crevice, rift, split. See open/close.
2. An interruption in friendly relations: alienation, breach, break, disaffection, estrangement, rent², rift, rupture, schism, split. See assemble/disassemble, help/harm/harmless.

verb

To undergo partial breaking: crack, fracture, rupture, split. See help/harm/harmless.

A long, narrow opening made by cracking or splitting.

1. A groove, crack, or cleft-like defect in the skin or mucous membranes (e.g. an anal fissure).

2. A groove or narrow slit-like opening in a bone through which blood vessels and nerves can pass.

3. A deep groove on the surface of the cerebral hemispheres.

Crack extending far into a planet or moon through which magma travels to and erupts onto the surface.

IN BRIEF: A crack or crack-like depression.

A long fissure formed in the street after the earthquake.

Tutor's tip: The "fissure" (a deep cleft or crack) in the rocks along the river bank was the perfect spot for the reclusive "fisher." (a fisherman)

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1. a narrow slit or cleft, especially one of the deeper or more constant furrows separating the gyri of the brain.
2. in dermatology a deep crack in the skin, often through a scab, which penetrates into the subcutis.

• abdominal f. — a congenital cleft in the abdominal wall.
• anal f., f. in ano — a painful linear ulcer at the margin of the anus.
• f. of Bichat — transverse fissure (2).
• branchial f. — branchial cleft.
• central f. — fissure of Rolando.
• collateral f. — a longitudinal fissure on the ventral surface of the cerebral hemisphere between the fusiform gyrus and the hippocampal gyrus.
• dorsal median f. — 1. a shallow vertical groove in the closed part of the medulla oblongata, continuous with the dorsal median sulcus of the spinal cord.
— 2. a shallow vertical groove dividing the spinal cord throughout its whole length in the midline dorsally. Called also dorsal median sulcus.
• ear f. — a split in the margin of the pinna which can gradually become larger from continued trauma.
• hippocampal f. — one extending from the splenium of the corpus callosum almost to the tip of the temporal lobe; called also hippocampal sulcus.
• interhemispheric f. — the fissure between the two cerebral hemispheres in birds.
• interincisive f. — fissure between the two incisive bones at the rostral end of the pig's face.
• laryngeal f. — the dorsal laryngeal furrow.
• ligamentum teres f. — on the diaphragmatic surface of the liver; houses the ligamentum teres.
• f. lines — in radiology, the variation in radiodensity indicating the division between lobes of the lung.
• longitudinal f. — the deep fissure between the cerebral hemispheres.
• macropalpebral f. — an enlarged palpebral fissure.
• optic f. — a ventral fissure in the developing optic cup through which blood vessels pass to the enclosed mesenchyme.
• orbital f. — see orbital foramen.
• palatine f. — a pair of fissures perforating the rostral extremity of the palate.
• palpebral f. — the opening between the eyelids.
• perianal f. — see perianal fistula.
• petrotympanic f. — the chorda tympani, on its way to merge with the lingual branch of the mandibular nerve, passes across the tympanic cavity and emerges at the petrotympanic fissure.
• portal f. — porta hepatis.
• presylvian f. — the ventral branch of the fissure of Sylvius.
• reverse f. — mediastinal fluid dissects into fissures between lung lobes causing fissure lines on radiographs to appear wide centrally and narrower peripherally.
• Rolando's f., f. of Rolando — a groove running obliquely across the superolateral surface of the cerebral hemisphere, separating the frontal from the parietal lobe. Called also central fissure and central sulcus.
• round ligament f. — one on the visceral surface of the liver, lodging the round ligament in the adult.
• sylvian f., f. of Sylvius — one extending laterally between the temporal and frontal lobes, and turning dorsally between the temporal and parietal lobes of the brain.
• transverse f. — 1. porta hepatis.
— 2. the transverse cerebral fissure between the diencephalon and the cerebral hemispheres; called also fissure of Bichat.
• tympano-occipital f. — on the ventral surface of the skull, near the confluence of the osseous bulla and the occipital bone, this pair of fissures serve as conduits for the glossopharyngeal, vagal and accessory nerves in species without a jugular foramen.
• ventral median f. — a longitudinal furrow along the midline of the ventral surface of the spinal cord and medulla oblongata.
• zygal f. — a cerebral fissure consisting of two branches connected by a stem.

n

A deep groove or cleft; commonly the result of the imperfect fusion of the enamel or adjoining dental lobes.

For a list of words related to fissure, see:

• Injuries and Accidents - fissure: crack in bone or thin cleft in tissue
• Signs and Symptoms - fissure: crack in membrane lining
• Hills, Hollows, and Valleys - fissure: crack or split in earth
• Fixed Positions and Points - fissure: narrow break in surface produced by separation of parts

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See words rhyming with "fissure."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Fissure.

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - spalte, revne, langskøre, fissur
v. intr. - revne
v. tr. - spalte

Nederlands (Dutch)
barst, scheur, scheuring, kloof, splijten, breken

Français (French)
n. - crevasse, fissure, (Anat) scissure
v. intr. - se fissurer, se crevasser
v. tr. - fissurer, fendre

Deutsch (German)
n. - Riß, Spalte
v. - Risse bekommen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - σχισμή, ρωγμή, χαραμάδα
v. - ραγίζω, σχίζω/-ομαι

Italiano (Italian)
crepa, fessura, fenditura, incrinatura, screpolatura, crepaccio

Português (Portuguese)
n. - fissura (f)
v. - rachar-se

Русский (Russian)
трещина, щель, излом, надлом кости, мозговая щель, растрескиваться, наносить трещины

Español (Spanish)
n. - fisura, grieta, hendidura, rajadura, quebrada
v. intr. - abrirse en una fisura, dividirse
v. tr. - hacer fisuras en

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - klyvning, klyfta, hjärnfåra (anat.)
v. - klyva, klyvas

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
裂缝, 裂隙, 裂开, 分裂, 使裂开, 使分裂

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 裂縫, 裂隙
v. intr. - 裂開, 分裂
v. tr. - 使裂開, 使分裂

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 갈라진 곳, 틈, 균열
v. intr. - 갈라지다, 틈이 생기다
v. tr. - 가르다, 째다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 裂け目, 割れ目

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) شق , صدع , انشطار (فعل) يشق , ينشطر‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮בקיע, סדק, חריץ‬
v. intr. - ‮חרץ, בקע, סדק‬
v. tr. - ‮חרץ, בקע, סדק‬

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