plica

n., pl., pli·cae (plī'sē, -kē).
A fold or ridge, as of skin, membrane, or shell.

[Medieval Latin, fold, from Latin plicāre, to fold.]

plical pli'cal adj.

(PLY-kuh)

noun, plural plicae (PLI-see, -kee)
1. A fold, especially of skin.
2. Hair in dirty, matted form.

Etymology
From Medieval Latin, fold, from Latin plicare, to fold.

Usage
"He underwent knee surgery during the summer to remove a plica ... from his left knee." — Tom Kensler, Sights Are Set on Sydney, The Denver Post, May 13, 1997.

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noun

A line or an arrangement made by the doubling of one part over another: crease, crimp, crinkle, crumple, fold, pleat, plication, pucker, rimple, ruck², rumple, wrinkle. See smooth/rough.

A fold of tissue or fold-like structure. See also knee plica.

Pl. plicae [L.] a ridge or fold.

• p. abomasi — permanent folds in the abomasal mucosa.
• p. circulares — permanent folds in the mucosa of the small intestine.
• p. glossoepiglottica — a median fold in the pharyngeal mucosa that passes from the root of the tongue to the base of the epiglottis.
• pterygomandibular p. — passes from the lower jaw to the upper behind the last molar teeth on both sides of the mouth.
• p. rumenoreticularis — the fold that partly separates the rumen from the reticulum.
• p. semilunaris conjunctivae — the fold of conjunctiva that encloses the substance of the third eyelid.
• p. venae cavae — the pleural fold which extends from the mediastinum to the caudal vena cava.

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