n, pl  -lae   :  a saccular anatomic swelling or pouch: as  a  :  the dilatation containing a patch of sensory epithelium at one end of each semicircular canal of the ear  b  :  one of the dilatations of the lactiferous tubules of the mammary glands that serve as reservoirs for milk  c (1) :  the middle portion of the fallopian tube (2) :  the distal dilatation of a vas deferens near the opening of the duct leading from the seminal vesicle  d  :  a terminal dilatation of the rectum just before it joins the anal canal .
 
   
 
Similar sounding terms:  am·pule 
 
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