Ventricle

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Ventricle \Ven"tri*cle\, n. [L. ventriculus the stomach, a
     ventricle, dim. of venter the belly: cf. F. ventricule. See
     {Ventral}.]
     1. (Anat.) A cavity, or one of the cavities, of an organ, as
        of the larynx or the brain; specifically, the posterior
        chamber, or one of the two posterior chambers, of the


        heart, which receives the blood from the auricle and
        forces it out from the heart. See {Heart}.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: The principal ventricles of the brain are the fourth in
           the medulla, the third in the midbrain, the first and
           second, or lateral, ventricles in the cerebral
           hemispheres, all of which are connected with each
           other, and the fifth, or pseudoc[oe]le, situated
           between the hemispheres, in front of, or above, the
           fornix, and entirely disconnected with the other
           cavities. See {Brain}, and {C[oe]lia}.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     2. The stomach. [Obs.]
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Whether I will or not, while I live, my heart beats,
              and my ventricle digests what is in it. --Sir M.
                                                    Hale.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. Fig.: Any cavity, or hollow place, in which any function
        may be conceived of as operating.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              These [ideas] are begot on the ventricle of memory.
                                                    --Shak.
        [1913 Webster] Ventricose

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  ventricle
       n 1: one of four connected cavities in the brain; is continuous
            with the central canal of the spinal cord and contains
            cerebrospinal fluid
       2: a chamber of the heart that receives blood from an atrium
          and pumps it to the arteries [syn: {heart ventricle}]