vallecular

1 9.9

Relating to a small groove or hollow in the body, often near the base of the tongue

adjective
/vælˈɛkjələr/

Specialized

: vallecular

The doctor examined the vallecular space for any signs of abnormalities.

Examples

To date, we have already performed 4 robot-assisted total thyroidectomies in humans, as well as an excision of a vallecular cyst.

Academic text (2005)
An understanding of the vallecular structures is essential for effective medical treatment of throat disorders.
How's your central vallecular equilibrator feeling?

Inspector Gadget (1999)
Based on these findings, we reached a presumptive diagnosis of a vallecular/epiglottic cyst.

Academic text (2005)
During the surgery, the surgeon carefully navigated around the vallecular region to avoid complications.

Surface Forms

vallecular positive

Morphology

vallecular = vallecula (transparent) = vallecul + ar

Formed by the regular adjectival suffix '-ar' added to the anatomical noun 'vallecula', yielding 'relating to a vallecula'.

Etymology

Vallecular comes from the Latin vallecula, a small form of vallis that means 'valley', so it means 'little valley'. In the body, a vallecular area is a small groove or depression, like a tiny valley, which is why we use the word for these small hollow places.