parietal

adj.

1. Relating to or forming the wall of a body part, organ, or cavity.
2. Of or relating to either of the parietal bones.
3. Botany. Borne on the inside of the ovary wall. Used of the ovules or placentas in flowering plants.
4. Dwelling within or having authority within the walls or buildings of a college.

n.

1. A parietal part, such as a wall or bone.
2. parietals The rules governing the visiting privileges of members of the opposite sex in college or university dormitories.

[Middle English, from Late Latin parietālis, of a wall, from Latin pariēs, pariet-, wall.]

(puh-RY-i-tl)

noun
1. Usually plural, regulations governing visiting privileges of the opposite sex in dormitories of a college campus.
2. A wall of a body part or cavity.

adjective
1. Of or relating to campus regulations regarding dormitory visits.
2. Of or relating to the various walls in the body or related bones.

Etymology
From Latin paries (wall)

Usage
"A group of students at Simon's Rock, part of Bard College, is fighting the parietal rules against nonresident students' staying overnight in single-sex freshmen dormitories." — The New York Times; Parietal Rules Under Attack at Special School; Dec 17, 1989.

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[De]

Pertaining to a wall; parietal art is art on walls. Generally extended to include related surfaces such as floors and ceilings. See rock art.

Pertaining to the walls of a cavity.

1. of or pertaining to the walls of an organ or cavity.
2. pertaining to or located near the parietal bone.

• p. block — abnormal electrical conduction through the left branch of the bundle of His.
• p. bone — one of two quadrilateral bones forming the sides and roof of the cranium.
• p. cells — cells of the proper gastric mucosa that secrete hydrochloric acid. Called also oxyntic cells.
• p. decidua — see parietal decidua.
• p. hernia — when only the antimesenteric edge of the intestine is incarcerated in the defect of body wall or mesentery.
• p. lobe — the upper central portion of the cerebral hemisphere, between the frontal and occipital lobes, and above the temporal lobe. In the human brain, it is the receptive area for fine sensory stimuli, and the highest integration and coordination of sensory information is carried on in this area. Damage to the parietal lobe can produce defects in vision and aphasia.
• p. peritoneum, p. pleura — that part of the serous membrane that invests the wall of the cavity, as distinct from the visceral part.

IN BRIEF: Of or relating to the walls of a part or cavity. Also: of or relating to forming the upper back wall of the head.

The physician examined the parietal area of the patient's head.

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