Peter's gland
- noun
- Specialized
- During surgery, the doctor found swelling near the Peter's gland in the lower intestine.
Examples
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Some diseases can affect the Peter's glands and cause abdominal discomfort.
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Inflammation of a Peter's gland is rare but can indicate an underlying infection.
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The doctor examined Peter's gland during the procedure.
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Is Peter's gland inflamed?
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During surgery, the doctor found swelling near the Peter's gland in the lower intestine.
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Inflammation of a Peter's gland is rare but can indicate an underlying infection.
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Some diseases can affect the Peter's glands and cause abdominal discomfort.
Synonyms
A small area of tissue in the small intestine that helps the body fight germs
Surface Forms
Morphology
Peter's + gland
The expression is eponymic: 'Peter's' is a possessive proper name that provides no information about anatomical location or specific function, while 'gland' only indicates a generic organ. A B1 learner who knows both constituents would only infer 'some gland belonging to or named after Peter' and could not derive the precise anatomical meaning, so the MWE is opaque.
Etymology
Peter's gland is named after a doctor called Peyer, whose name was often written like 'Peter'. He described small glands in the lower intestine near the join of the 'small intestine' and 'large intestine', so the name came to mean those specific intestinal glands.