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al·ve·o·lus | \ al-ˈvē-ə-ləs 
\
\ plural alveoli\ al-ˈvē-ə-ˌlī , -(ˌ)lē \
, -(ˌ)lē \Definition of alveolus
1 : a small cavity or pit: such as
a : a socket in the jaw for a tooth
b : a small air-containing compartment of the lungs in which the bronchioles terminate and from which respiratory gases are exchanged with the pulmonary capillaries
c : an acinus of a compound gland
d : a cell of a honeycomb
Examples of alveolus in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web But even when a patient is severely ill, some alveoli still function well.
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Olivia Carville, Bloomberg.com, "Life After Ventilators Can Be Hell for Coronavirus Survivors," 10 May 2020 This could explain how the alveoli fail to oxygenate the blood without the patient noticing the need to gasp for more air.
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Fox News, "'Silent hypoxia' may be killing COVID-19 patients, but there's hope," 28 Apr. 2020 These millions of alveoli are so soft, so gentle, that a healthy lung has almost no substance.
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oregonlive, "Lung exercises can help prevent severe coronavirus illness, doctor says -- and JK Rowling claims they worked for her," 7 Apr. 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'alveolus.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for alveolus
alveolus
nounal·ve·o·lus | \ al-ˈvē-ə-ləs \
\ plural alveoli\ -ˌlī , -(ˌ)lē \
, -(ˌ)lē \Medical Definition of alveolus
: a small cavity or pit: as
a : a socket in the jaw for a tooth
b : any of the small thin-walled air-containing compartments of the lung that are typically arranged in saclike clusters into which an alveolar duct terminates and from which respiratory gases are exchanged with the pulmonary capillaries
c : an acinus of a compound gland
d : any of the pits in the wall of the stomach into which the glands open
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Time Traveler for alveolus
The first known use of alveolus was in 1657
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