Diverticulum

This article is about the medical term. For the structures in sea slugs, see Diverticulum (mollusc anatomy).
Diverticulum
Other namesDiverticula
Schematic drawing of a false diverticulum. A - mucosa; B - submucosa; C - muscularis; D - serosa and subserosa
SpecialtyGastroenterology

In medicine or biology, a diverticulum is an outpouching of a hollow (or a fluid-filled) structure in the body.[1] Depending upon which layers of the structure are involved, diverticula are described as being either true or false.[2]

In medicine, the term usually implies the structure is not normally present, but in embryology, the term is used for some normal structures arising from others, as for instance the thyroid diverticulum, which arises from the tongue.[3]

The word comes from Latin dīverticulum, "bypath" or "byway".

  1. ^ "diverticulum | Definition of diverticulum in English by Lexico Dictionaries". Lexico Dictionaries | English. Archived from the original on 17 July 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Sadler, Thomas W. (2012). Langman's Medical Embryology (12th ed.). Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. ISBN 9781451113426. OCLC 732776409.