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pupillary

pupillary

1 7.5
Relating to the small dark hole in the centre of the eye that controls light
  • adjective
  • /ˈpjuːpɪˌlɛri/
  • Specialized
translation icon : pupilar
  • The pupillary light reflexes are still intact... ...and, as yet, there's no optic atrophy.
  • afferent pupillary
  • pupillary defect

Examples

  • Pupillary reactions to light should be documented, and fundoscopy should be checked for papilloedema.

    Academic text (2011)
  • During the examination, the nurse noted that the pupillary reflex was slow to respond to light.

  • Now we can check the pupillary reflexes.

  • Are there pupillary effects from the tranquilizer?

    Fiction book (1993)
  • You have no pupillary response, no reflexes, your temperature is 70 degrees.

  • Pupillary response normal.

  • Pupillary reflex is good.

  • The doctor assessed the pupillary response to ensure the patient's brain function was normal.

  • Changes in the pupillary size can indicate a variety of medical conditions.

Compounds

pupillary reflex
  • Specialized
7.0

An automatic narrowing of the pupil in bright light or after some medicines

pupillary sphincter
  • Specialized
8.9

A ring of muscle in the coloured part of the eye that makes the pupil smaller

Surface Forms

pupillary positive

Morphology

pupillary = pupil (transparent) = pupil + ary

Formed by adding the adjective-forming suffix '-ary' to the noun 'pupil', so the meaning is directly 'relating to the pupil'.

Etymology

The word pupillary comes from the Latin word pupilla, which means 'little doll' because people once saw a tiny reflection like a doll when they looked into the eye. So pupillary is about the pupil, the small dark circle in the eye, and refers to anything affecting that part.