utricle

noun

utri·​cle ˈyü-tri-kəl 

: any of various small pouches or saccate parts of an animal or plant: such as

a

: the part of the membranous labyrinth of the inner ear into which the semicircular canals open

b

: a small usually indehiscent one-seeded fruit with thin membranous pericarp

utricular

yu̇-ˈtri-kyə-lər 

adjective

Examples of utricle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The saccule and utricle detect acceleration and tilting. —Shayla Love, The New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2023

The saccule and utricle, two chambers in the inner ear, detect the direction of gravity and help the body to balance. —Matt Hrodey, Discover Magazine, 15 Nov. 2023

If the cochlea were a snail’s shell, the vestibular organs—the saccule, the utricle, and three semicircular canals—would make up the snail’s body. —Shayla Love, The New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2023

Happily, the Epley maneuver, a series of head-turning movements, can diminish the vertigo by enlisting gravity to coax a wayward otolith back into the utricle. —Tony Dajer, Discover Magazine, 15 May 2021

Linear motion is detected by the utricle and its partner bulge, the saccule. —Tony Dajer, Discover Magazine, 15 May 2021

In those individuals, Balaban says, further tests implicated damage to the ear's otolith organs, the utricle and the saccule, key to sensing gravity. —Richard Stone, Science | AAAS, 20 June 2018

Word History

Etymology

Latin utriculus, diminutive of uter leather bag

First Known Use

1731, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

utricle

noun

utri·​cle ˈyü-tri-kəl 

: a small anatomical pouch: as

a

: the part of the membranous labyrinth of the ear into which the semicircular canals open and that contains the macula utriculi

called also utriculus

b

: prostatic utricle

utricular

yu̇-ˈtrik-yə-lər 

adjective