pedicle

noun

ped·​i·​cle ˈpe-di-kəl 

1

: pedicel sense b

2

: the part of a skin or tissue graft left attached to the original site during the preliminary stages of union

3

anatomy : either of two short cylindrical bony processes lying on either side of a vertebra that project posteriorly from the vertebral body and fuse with the laminae to form a neural arch

Note: Each pedicle has a superior and inferior notch that forms an intervertebral foramen with a pedicle on an adjacent vertebra allowing for the passage of spinal nerves and vessels

pedicled

ˈpe-di-kəld 

adjective

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Often the spine must be stabilized by putting screws in through the back of the vertebrae, into the main part of the bone, through a narrow section called the pedicle. —Ed Stannard, Hartford Courant, 13 Feb. 2023

Another widespread practice for more than 40 years is spinal fusion, a surgery for back pain that often involves implanting expensive devices known as pedicle screws. —Jeanne Lenzer, Discover Magazine, 11 Feb. 2011

Enlarge / Four drawings illustrating tubed pedicle flaps by Russian surgeon Vladimir Filatov, 1916. —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 13 June 2022

For trans men, testosterone and mastectomy were common, but genital surgeries remained rare, in part because phalloplasty had only minimally evolved beyond Gillies’s tubed pedicle of the 1940s. —New York Times, 10 May 2022

There are a few other options, such as a pedicle graft, in which donor tissue comes from a gum area closer to the recipient area. —Sarah Jacoby, SELF, 11 Mar. 2019

Word History

Etymology

Latin pediculus, from diminutive of ped-, pes

First Known Use

1626, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

pedicle

noun

ped·​i·​cle ˈped-i-kəl 

: a basal attachment: as

a

: either of two short cylindrical bony processes lying on either side of a vertebra that project posteriorly from the vertebral body and fuse with the laminae to form a neural arch

Note: Each pedicle has a superior and inferior notch that forms an intervertebral foramen with a pedicle on an adjacent vertebra allowing for the passage of spinal nerves and vessels.

b

: the narrow basal part by which various organs (as the kidney or spleen) are continuous with other body structures

c

: the narrow base of a tumor

d

: the part of a pedicle flap left attached to the original site