sulcus

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   in anatomy, a narrow groove or furrow in an organ or tissue, especially on the surface of the brain

   The central sulcus separates the frontal and parietal lobes of the brain.

2. 2
   noun

   in planetary geology, a long region of roughly parallel grooves or ridges

   Images of the moon revealed a long sulcus crossing the icy terrain.

Borrowed from Latin sulcus 'furrow or trench'. Anatomy uses the farming metaphor for grooves in organs, especially the cerebral cortex; planetary geology uses the plural sulci for long parallel grooves.

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