[syn: medulla oblongata, medulla, bulb]
6. a rounded dilation or expansion in a canal or vessel or organ;
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Bulb \Bulb\, v. i.
To take the shape of a bulb; to swell.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Bulb \Bulb\ (b[u^]lb), n. [L. bulbus, Gr. bolbo`s: cf. F.
bulbe.]
1. (Bot.) A spheroidal body growing from a plant either above
or below the ground (usually below), which is strictly a
bud, consisting of a cluster of partially developed
leaves, and producing, as it grows, a stem above, and
roots below, as in the onion, tulip, etc. It differs from
a corm in not being solid.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Anat.) A name given to some parts that resemble in shape
certain bulbous roots; as, the bulb of the aorta.
[1913 Webster]
Bulb of the eye, the eyeball.
Bulb of a hair, the "root," or part whence the hair
originates.
Bulb of the spinal cord, the medulla oblongata, often
called simply bulb.
Bulb of a tooth, the vascular and nervous papilla contained
in the cavity of the tooth.
[1913 Webster]
3. An expansion or protuberance on a stem or tube, as the
bulb of a thermometer, which may be of any form, as
spherical, cylindrical, curved, etc. --Tomlinson.
[1913 Webster]
3. a light bulb.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
bulb
n 1: a modified bud consisting of a thickened globular
underground stem serving as a reproductive structure
2: electric lamp consisting of a transparent or translucent
glass housing containing a wire filament (usually tungsten)
that emits light when heated by electricity [syn: light
bulb, lightbulb, bulb, incandescent lamp, electric
light, electric-light bulb]
3: a rounded part of a cylindrical instrument (usually at one
end); "the bulb of a syringe"
4: anything with a round shape resembling a teardrop
5: lower or hindmost part of the brain; continuous with spinal
cord; (`bulb' is an old term for medulla oblongata); "the
medulla oblongata is the most vital part of the brain because
it contains centers controlling breathing and heart
functioning" [syn: medulla oblongata, medulla, bulb]
6: a rounded dilation or expansion in a canal or vessel or organ