Translingual

Proper noun

Glomus n

1. A taxonomic genus within the family Glomeraceae – a large group of fungi that are obligate symbionts of tree roots.

Hypernyms

• (family): Eukaryota - superkingdom; Fungi - kingdom; Eomycota - subkingdom; Glomeromycota - phylum; Glomeromycetes - class; Glomerales - order; Glomeraceae - family

Hyponyms

• (genus): Glomus claroideum, Glomus etunicatum - species

English

Noun

glomus ‎(plural glomera)

1. A fold of the mesothelium arising near the base of the mesentery in the pronephron, and containing a ball of blood vessels.
2. A highly organized vessel that connects an artery and a vein (bypassing capillaries) in an extremity such as a finger, toe, or ear or in another organ that is not part of the body's core. The glomus regulates the flow of blood, controlling temperature in order to conserve heat in the organ and, indirectly, controls the blood pressure and other functions of the circulatory system.
   • 2001 April 20, Hao Zhu & H. Franklin Bunn, “SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION: How Do Cells Sense Oxygen?”, in Science, volume 292, number 5516, DOI:10.1126/science.1060849, pages 449-451:

     The up-regulation of this enzyme in glomus cells of the carotid body in the neck enables the hypoxic animal to achieve a sustained increase in ventilation.

Derived terms

• glomus cell
• glomus tumor

Related terms

• glomus caroticum
• glomus carotideum
• glomus choroideum
• glomus coccygeum

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *gel- ‎(“form into a ball; ball”). Cognate with Latin globus, glaeba and Proto-Germanic *klumpô ‎(“mass, lump, clump; clasp”).

Noun

glomus n ‎(genitive glomeris); third declension

1. ball-shaped mass
2. ball of thread, yarn

Inflection

Third declension neuter.

Related terms

• globus

Derived terms

• glomerō
• glomerulus

Descendants

• Aromanian: gljem, gljom
• French: glome
• Italian: ghiomo, gomitolo
• Romanian: ghem

References

• glomus in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• glomus in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• GLOMUS in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “glomus”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.