Linea Alba
/ˈlɪniə ˈælbə/noun
A vertical band of tough white connective tissue running along the midline of the abdominal wall.
Did you know?The linea alba can darken during pregnancy because increased pigmentation produces the linea nigra, meaning “black line.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*līno- / *albhos
“Flax or thread; white or shining”
Ancient Latin
Latin
linum; albus, alba
“Flax; white—alba is the feminine form agreeing with linea”
Classical Latin
Latin
linea alba
“A white line or white threadlike mark”
16th–17th Century
New Latin
linea alba
“An anatomical term for the fibrous abdominal midline”
Modern English
Medical English
linea alba
“The white connective-tissue band dividing the left and right rectus abdominis muscles”