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Glite Dictionary
amniotic sac

amniotic sac

1 4.4
A thin bag that surrounds and protects a developing baby in the womb
  • noun
  • /ˌæmniˈɑtɪk sæk/
  • Specialized
translation icon : saco amniótico
  • An ultrasound revealed that the fetus was safely nestled within its amniotic sac.

But the only way to get DNA was to take it by needle from fluid in the amniotic SAC surrounding the fetus.

Examples

  • And while the amniotic sac wasn't punctured, and isn't ruptured we are seeing signs of strain on the cervix.

    Annabelle (2014)

  • "It was the amniotic sac."

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Here the light pink is the amniotic SAC, and the dark pink is the placenta.

  • Our souls are going to be pulled from our bodies and carried through this unfathomable amniotic sac.

    Under the Silver Lake (2018)

  • That dark sac there, that's the amniotic sac.

    Knocked Up (2007)

  • But the only way to get DNA was to take it by needle from fluid in the amniotic SAC surrounding the fetus.

    Harvard University

  • The doctor explained that the amniotic sac protects the developing baby during pregnancy.

  • When the amniotic sac breaks, it often signals that labor is about to begin.

Synonyms

sac
vsamniotic sac
  • Specialized
25 4.8

A small hollow bag in animals and plants that holds fluid or air

is the specific thin membranous layer that protects embryo and fetus
amnios
vsamniotic sac
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A thin inner sac of fluid that surrounds a developing baby in the womb

stresses protection and includes the later fetus stage
amnion
vsamniotic sac
  • Specialized
9.5

A thin inner bag that surrounds a young animal before it is born or hatched and holds protective fluid

also covers the later fetus stage as well as the embryo
embryonic membrane
vsamniotic sac
  • Specialized
8.1

A thin skin that sometimes covers a baby's head when it is born

is the thin inner layer that also protects the fetus

Surface Forms

amniotic sac singular
amniotic sacs plural

Morphology

amniotic + sac

The noun phrase is directly compositional: 'amniotic' (pertaining to the protective fetal membrane) modifies 'sac' (a fluid-containing structure), so together they denote the fluid-filled protective sac around an embryo or fetus. This adjective + noun pattern is regular in English and mirrored across many languages, so a learner who knows both constituents can infer the meaning.

Etymology

Amniotic sac comes from an old Greek word 'amnion' for the thin membrane around the baby and the word sac meaning 'bag'. Picture a thin, water-filled amniotic bag that cushions and protects the baby inside the mother, so the name fits its job of surrounding and protecting the baby.