lamella

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a thin plate, layer, membrane, or sheet forming part of a biological, mineral, or manufactured structure

   The microscope revealed a thin lamella of mineral within the crystal.

2. 2
   noun

   mycology: one of the radiating gills beneath the cap of a mushroom

   Each lamella released spores from the underside of the mushroom cap.

3. 3
   noun

   zoology: a thin plate or leaflike structure, such as part of a gill, foot, or shell

   The amphipod's coxal lamella ended in a small hooklike process.

Borrowed from Latin lamella, 'small thin plate,' a diminutive of lamina, 'plate or sheet.' Scientific English uses the image for many thin layered or leaflike structures; lamellae is the traditional Latin plural.

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