ampullae

am·pul·la   (ām-pŏŏl'ə, -pŭl'ə)    n.   pl. am·pul·lae (-pŏŏl'ē, -pŭl'ē) A nearly round bottle with two handles used by the ancient Romans for wine, oil, or perfume. Ecclesiastical A vessel for consecrated wine or holy oil. Anatomy A small dilatation in a canal or duct, especially one in the semicircular canal of the ear. [Middle English, from Old English, from Latin, diminutive of amphora; see amphora.] am·pul'lar adj.

Main Entry: am·pul·la
Pronunciation: am-'pu-l&, 'am-"pyü-l&
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural am·pul·lae /-"lE/
: a saccular anatomic swelling or pouch: as a : the dilatation containing a patch of sensory epithelium at one end of each semicircular canal of the ear b : one of the dilatations of the lactiferous tubules of the mammary glands that serve as reservoirs for milk c (1) : the middle portion of the fallopian tube (2) : the distal dilatation of a vas deferens near the opening of the duct leading from the seminal vesicle d : a terminal dilatation of the rectum just before it joins the analcanal

ampulla am·pul·la (ām-p&oobreve;l'ə, -pŭl'ə)
n. pl. am·pul·lae (-p&oobreve;l'ē, -pŭl'ē)
A dilated portion of a canal or duct, as in the semicircular canal of the ear.

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am·pul'lar adj.

ampullae

a small narrow-necked, round-bodied vase for holding liquids, especially oil and perfumes. It was used in the ancient Mediterranean for toilet purposes and for anointing the bodies of the dead, being then buried with them. In early medieval times in Europe, ampullae were used in anointing kings. Both the name and the function of the ampulla have survived in Western Christianity, where it still designates the vessel containing the oil (chrism) consecrated by the bishop for ritual uses, especially in the sacraments of confirmation, orders, and extreme unction. It is used in the British coronation ceremony and is cited repeatedly by name in the coronation service; the ampulla of the regalia of the United Kingdom takes the form of a golden eagle with outspread wings. Perhaps the most celebrated ampulla in history was that known as la sainte ampoule ("the holy ampulla"), at Reims, from which the kings of France were anointed (legend said that it was brought from heaven by a dove for the coronation of Clovis); this ampulla was destroyed during the French Revolution.

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