peri- prefix.
['pɛri][from Greek
peri (preposition & adverb) round, around, round about, about.]
Used with the sense 'encircling, around, in the vicinity of, near' to form adjectives (& derived adverbs) & nouns, esp.
(a) Medicine referring to a region or structure lying around or near a specified part;
(b) Astronomy referring to the point in the orbit of a body at which it is nearest to the primary about which it revolves (opp.
APO-).
■ peri'anal
adjective situated or occurring around the anus
L19. ■ peri'apical
adjective situated or occurring around the apex of the root of a tooth
E20. ■ peri'apsis
noun, pl. -apses
[-'apsi:z],
Astronomy the point in the path of an orbiting body at which it is nearest to the primary
M20. ■ [-'karɪǝn], pl. -karya
[-'karɪǝ],
noun [KARYO-] Anatomy the part of a nerve cell that contains the nucleus
L19. ■ perilune
noun (
Astronomy) the point at which a spacecraft in lunar orbit (esp. one launched from the moon) is nearest to the moon's centre (cf.
pericynthion)
M20. ■ perilymph
noun (
Anatomy) the fluid within the bony labyrinth of the ear, surrounding the membranous labyrinth
M19. ■ perilym'phatic
adjective (
Anatomy) of or pertaining to the perilymph
L19. ■ perimeno'pausal
adjective occurring at around the time of the menopause
M20. ■ peri'menopause
noun the perimenopausal period of life
M20. ■ perimorph
noun a mineral or crystal that encloses another
L19. ■ perimysium
[-'mɪs-] noun [Greek mus muscle] Anatomy the connective tissue that forms sheaths around bundles of muscle fibres in a muscle and around the muscles themselves
M19. ■ peri'nephric
adjective (
Anatomy) situated or occurring around the kidney
L19. ■ peri'neural
adjective (
Anatomy) situated or occurring around a nerve or a bundle of nerve fibres
L19. ■ peri'neurium
noun (
Anatomy) the sheath of connective tissue surrounding a bundle of nerve fibres
M19. ■ peri'nuclear
adjective (a) Biology situated or occurring around a cell nucleus;
(b) Medicine situated or occurring around the eyeball:
L19. ■ peri'ocular
adjective situated or occurring around the eye or the eyeball
L19. ■ perioesophageal
[,pɛrɪɪsɒfǝ'dʒi:ǝl] adjective (
Anatomy) situated or occurring around the oesophagus
L19. ■ perionychia
[-'nɪk-] noun (
Medicine) =
[-tri:m] noun [Greek trēma perforation, hole] Zoology a small chitinous ring surrounding a spiracle in an insect
M19. ■ peritrich
[-trɪk] noun (
Zoology) a peritrichous organism
E20. ■ pe'ritrichate
adjective (
Zoology) (of a bacterium) peritrichous
M20. ■ pe'ritrichous
adjective [Greek trikh-, thrix hair] Zoology (of a ciliate) having no cilia except for a ring of them around the mouth; (of a bacterium) having flagella over the whole body surface:
L19. ■ pe'ritrichously
adverb (
Zoology) in the manner of a peritrichous organism
E20. ■ peritrophic
[-'trǝʊfɪk, -'trɒfɪk] adjective (
Zoology) designating a chitinous tube or membrane that lines the gut of many insects and some crustaceans and is wrapped round faeces when they are expelled
E20. ■ peri'tubular adjective (
Anatomy) situated or occurring around a tubule, esp. of the urogenital system
L20. ■ perity'phlitis noun [Greek tuphlon caecum, from tuphlos blind] Medicine (now
Hist.) inflammation of (a part near) the caecum, as in appendicitis and typhlitis
M19. ■ peri'ungual adjective (
Medicine) situated or occurring around the nails
L19. ■ peri-'urban adjective (esp. in Africa) immediately adjoining a city or conurbation
M20. ■ periure'teric adjective (
Medicine) situated or occurring around one ureter or both
E20. ■ periu'rethral adjective (
Medicine) situated or occurring around the urethra
L19. ■ peri'vascular adjective (
Anatomy) situated or occurring around a blood-vessel
L19. ■ periven'tricular adjective (
Anatomy) situated or occurring around a ventricle, esp. a ventricle of the brain
L19. ■ peri'visceral adjective (
Anatomy) situated or occurring around the viscera
M19. ■ perivi'telline adjective (
Biology) situated or occurring around the vitellus of an ovum
L19. [TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲