Histology Glossary - R

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A Glossary of Histological and Micro-Anatomical Terms

 Histology Glossary: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
Including historical origins and eponyms compiled by Dr Brian Freeman, Department of Anatomy, School of Medical Sciences, revised 2000.
ANAT2241 Support | Histology | Histology Stains | Historic Terminology | Embryology Glossary


Abbreviations: ( ) plural form in brackets, A. Arabic, abb. abbreviation, c. circa =about, F. French adj. adjective, G. Greek, Ge. German, cf. compare, L. Latin, dim. diminutive, NA. Nomina anatomica, q.v. which see, OF. Old French



racemose L. racemosus = full of clusters (like a bunch of grapes); of compound exocrine glands whose grape-like acini are attached to branching ducts.


radicle L. radicula = a small root, dim L. radix ; adj. radicular.


ramification L. ramus = a branch + facere = to make; branching.


Ramon y Cajal cf. Cajal.


ramus L. = a branch.


Ranvier, Louis Antoine. 1835-1922 Paris physician & histologist; nodes of R. (1875) = constrictions in nerve fibre between adjacent internodes; R.'s cross (1875) = intersection of stained glycocalyx & axoplasm forming a cross at site of node.


Rathke, Martin Heinrich. 1793-1860 Dorpat physiologist & pathologist, Königsberg anatomist & zoologist, embryologist; R.'s pouch = a recess anterior to the buccopharyngeal membrane in the embryo (1838).


RBC red blood cell or corpuscle.


rectum L. rectus = straight; terminal part of large intestine. NB. the rectum is straight in a rhesus monkey dissected by Galen (c. 180 AD), but curved in man.


refractile L. refractus = ability to turn back, i.e., bend the path of light.


refractive index 1. a measure of the extent to which a transparent object may bend the incident light path; 2. the ratio of velocity of light in vacuum (or air) to its speed in another medium; symbol h = 1.33 for water, 1.413 for lens of eye.


Reinke, Friedrich B. 1862-1919 German anatomist; crystalloids of R. = intracellular rod-shaped crystal-like structures in interstitial cells of testis (Leydig cells).


Reisseisen, Franz D. 1773-1828 R.'s muscle = smooth muscle fibres of microscopic bronchial tubes, i.e., bronchiolar muscle.


Reissner, Ernst. 1824-1878 Dorpat & Breslau anatomist, also Berlin; R.'s membrane (1851) = vestibular membrane of cochlea between scala media & scala vestibuli; R.'s duct = cochlea duct; R.'s fibre = fibre of jelly in central canal of spinal cord.


Remak, Robert. 1815-1865 German physician & neurologist; R.'s fibres (1838) = unmyelinated nerve fibres; R.'s ganglion = autonomic (as opposed to sensory) ganglion cells in heart; showed cell proliferation is due to division of existing cells, contrary to teaching of Schleiden & Schwann.


renal adj. L. ren = kidney.


renculus L. = a little kidney (dim. L. ren ); a lobe of the kidney, defined partly by its papilla in the medulla.


resolving power closest distance between two points at which each can be seen separately, using naked eye or a a magnifier.


rete (-tia) L. = a net (-work); a snare.


rete Malpighii L. " ; the stratum germinativum of epidermis, called rete because of all the criss-crossing tonofilaments which it contains; cf. Malpighi.


rete mirabile L. " + L. = marvellous; sudden division of a vessel into a large number of capillaries which then reunite to a single vessel, as in a renal glomerulus, or swim bladder of some fish. Galen, dissecting animals, also thought it erroneously to be present around the internal carotid of man.


rete peg downward projection of stratum germinativum, which appears peg-like in 2-dimensions, but is really part of a ridge.


rete testis network of spaces in the mediastinum testis.


reticular adj. L. reticula = a little net; of a type of extracellular fibres that form a network and can be impregnated with silver salts; of a type of connective tissue with a network of many fine branching reticular fibres; thickest and strongest layer of dermis with many dense irregular collagen fibres.


reticulata (or reticularis) adj. L. " ; e.g., zona reticulata (reticularis) = deepest zone of adrenal cortex where cells are arranged in an irregular network.


reticulocyte L. " + kytos = hollow vessel; young red blood cell with network of basophilic protein in an acidophilic cytoplasm


reticulum L. reticula = a little net; cf. stellate.


retina from L. rete = a net, based on an inappropriate translation of Galen where G. amphiblestron = 1. that which surrounds the vitreous; 2. a fisherman's net; the light-sensitive coat of eye (not like a net!).


Retzius, Magnus Gustav. 1842-1919 Stockholm anatomist; lines of R. = concentric brown lines in tooth enamel.


ribosome ribose + G. soma = body; small cytoplasmic particle containing ribonucleoprotein (G. Palade).


rima L. = a cleft, fissure; rima glottidis = gap between vocal cords; rima palpebrarum = gap between eyelids (later, margins of eyelids).


Riolan, Jean, the son. ?1577,1580-1657 Paris anatomist, botanist & pharmacologist; R.'s muscle = 1. ciliary muscle (palpebral part of orbicularis oculi), 2. cremaster muscle.


Robin, Charles Philippe. 1821-1885 Paris histologist; described osteoclast; also cf. Virchow-Robin spaces = perivascular spaces around arterioles and arteries of central nervous system.


rod terminal part of the dendrite of a photoreceptor (sensory neuron) in the retina, responsible for perception of grey tones at low light intensities.


Rolando, Luigi. 1773-1831 Turin anatomist; fissure of R. = central sulcus of cerebral hemisphere (named eponymously by François Leuret after Rolando had shown it to him, 1839-1857); substantia gelatinosa of spinal cord.


Romanowsky, Dimitri L. 1861-1921 Russian physician; R.'s stain = a stain for parasites and cells of a blood film.


Rosenmüller, Johann Christian. 1771-1820 Leipzig anatomist & surgeon; organ of R. = epoöphoron; pharyngeal recess.


rouleaux F. = rolls (of erythrocytes).


Ruffini, Angelo. 1874-1929 Italian anatomist; R.'s nerve endings or bodies or corpuscles = varicose sensory nerve endings surrounded by a fibrous capsule found deep in connective tissues (1898).


ruga (-ae) L. = a fold or wrinkle, e.g., in stomach, in vagina.


Ruysch, Frederick. 1638-1731 Amsterdam anatomist; master of the preparation of injected specimens; described bronchial blood vessels, lymph valves; established a suberb anatomical museum, which was purchased by Peter the Great, but was destroyed en route to St. Petersburg when the sailors drank the alcohol used as a fixitive and preserving fluid.





Histology Glossary: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | ANAT2241 Support | Histology | Histology Stains | Embryology Glossary

Cite this page: Hill, M.A. (2024, March 19) Embryology Histology Glossary - R. Retrieved from https://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/index.php/Histology_Glossary_-_R

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