renal cortex
- noun
- /ˈrɛnəl ˈkɔrtɛks/
- Specialized
- In the renal cortex, glomeruli are essential for urine formation.
Examples
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The renal cortex plays a vital role in filtering blood and removing waste products.
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Microscopic examination showed inflammation in the renal cortex of the patient’s kidney.
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Damage to the renal cortex can impair kidney function significantly.
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The renal cortex plays a crucial role in filtering blood.
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Damage to the renal cortex can impair kidney function significantly.
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Microscopic examination showed inflammation in the renal cortex of the patient’s kidney.
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The renal cortex plays a vital role in filtering blood and removing waste products.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase's meaning is directly compositional: 'renal' = related to the kidneys and 'cortex' = outer layer, so together they denote the kidney's outer region. Although medical, the construction is regular and mirrored across many languages, so a learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Renal cortex comes from old words: renal means 'kidney' and cortex means 'bark' or outer layer. So the name gives a simple picture like bark around a tree, and it refers to the outer part of the 'kidney' where blood is filtered.