glomeruli

glo·mer·u·lus   (glō-měr'yə-ləs)    n.   pl. glo·mer·u·li (-lī') Anatomy A small cluster or mass of blood vessels or nerve fibers. A tuft of capillaries situated within a Bowman's capsule at the end of a renal tubule in the vertebrate kidney that filters waste products from the blood and thus initiates urine formation. [New Latin, diminutive of Latin glomus, glomer-, ball.]

Main Entry: glo·mer·u·lus
Pronunciation: gl&-'mer-(y)&-l&s, glO-
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural glo·mer·u·li /-"lI, -"lE/
: a small convoluted or intertwined mass (as of organisms, nerve fibers, or capillaries): as a : a tuft ofcapillaries that is covered by epithelium, is situated at the point of origin of each vertebrate nephron, and normally passes a protein-free filtrate from the blood to the surrounding Bowman's capsule—see RENAL CORPUSCLE b : the convoluted secretory part of a sweat gland c : adense entanglement of nerve fibers situated in the olfactory bulb and containing the primary synapses of the olfactory pathway

glomerulus glo·mer·u·lus (glō-měr'yə-ləs)
n. pl. glo·mer·u·li (-lī')

1. A small cluster or intertwined mass.

2. A tuft of capillaries situated within a Bowman's capsule at the end of a renal tubule in the vertebrate kidney that filters waste products from the blood and thus initiates urine formation.

3. The twisted secretory portion of a sweat gland.

4. A nerve ending consisting of a cluster of dendritic ramifications and axon terminals surrounded by a glial sheath.