Glomerulus
/ɡləʊˈmɛr.ə.ləs/noun
A small rounded cluster of structures, especially the tuft of capillaries in a kidney nephron.
Did you know?The medical term comes from Latin glomus, a ball or tangled mass of thread, describing the kidney’s capillary tuft centuries before modern microscopy revealed its structure.
Etymological Timeline
Classical Latin
Latin
glomus
“A ball, especially a ball of thread or a tangled mass”
Late Latin
Latin
glomerulus
“A small ball or little rounded mass; diminutive of glomus”
17th Century
New Latin
glomerulus
“A small rounded anatomical cluster, used in scientific anatomy”
18th Century
New Latin
glomerulus renalis
“The small tuft or ball of capillaries in the kidney”
Modern English
English
glomerulus
“A capillary tuft in a nephron, or any small rounded cluster”
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