Pl. retia [L.] a network or meshwork, especially of blood vessels.
- arterial r., r. arteriosum — an anastomotic network of minute arteries, just before they become capillaries.
- articular r. — a network of anastomosing blood vessels in or around a joint.
- blood vessel r. — visible networks of vessels; see also rete mirabile (below).
- r. carpi dorsale — a network of small vessels over the dorsal aspect of the carpus in the horse.
- r. malpighii — the innermost stratum of epidermis.
- r. mirabile — a vascular network formed by division of an artery or vein into many smaller vessels that reunite into a single vessel, such as the carotid rete mirabile (epidural rete) at the base of the brain of ruminants.
- r. mirabile ophthalmicum — a small arterial network in the orbit of ruminants.
- r. pegs — inward projections of the epidermis into the dermis, as seen histologically in vertical sections.
- r. ridge — marked undulations of the dermoepidermal junction; not a feature of normal skin in animals except in certain areas such as the footpads and planum nasale of carnivores.
- r. testis — the network of channels formed in the mediastinum of the testis by the seminiferous tubules.
- r. tubules — a network composed of tubules, e.g. seminiferous tubules.
- r. vasculosa — networks of vessels as in the lungs.
- r. venosum — an anastomotic network of small veins.