Bartholin's gland
- noun
- /bɑrˈθoʊlɪnz ɡlænd/
- Specialized
:
glándula de Bartolino
- The Bartholin's gland can become infected, leading to a swelling known as a Bartholin's cyst.
Examples
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Lubricating mucus is produced by the Bartholin's gland during sexual arousal.
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Doctors examined the patient for blockage of the Bartholin's gland.
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The Bartholin's gland is important for lubrication.
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She felt pain near her Bartholin's gland.
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Doctors examined the patient for blockage of the Bartholin's gland.
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Lubricating mucus is produced by the Bartholin's gland during sexual arousal.
-
The Bartholin's gland can become infected, leading to a swelling known as a Bartholin's cyst.
Synonyms
A small gland on each side of the vaginal opening that makes fluid to keep it wet during sex
Surface Forms
Morphology
Bartholin's + gland
The term pairs an eponymic name ('Bartholin's')—which gives no semantic information to a B1 learner—with the transparent noun 'gland', so a learner who knows 'gland' can infer it is some secretory organ but cannot derive the specific location (near the vaginal opening) or function (lubrication) from the parts. Because part of the meaning (that it is a gland) is clear but the crucial anatomical and functional details are not predictable, it is partially but not fully transparent.
Etymology
Bartholin's gland is named after the doctor Caspar Bartholin, who first described these small body parts. The word gland shows they 'produce fluid', so the name now refers to the tiny organs beside the vaginal opening that make lubrication.
