Septum

Template:Short description {{#invoke:Hatnote|hatnote}} Template:Sister project In biology, a septum (Latin for something that encloses; Template:Plural form septa) is a wall, dividing a cavity or structure into smaller ones. A cavity or structure divided in this way may be referred to as septate.

Examples

Human anatomy

• Interatrial septum, the wall of tissue that is a sectional part of the left and right atria of the heart<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

File:Ventricular septal defect.svg

A diagram of a healthy heart and one suffering from ventricular septal defect

• Interventricular septum, the wall separating the left and right ventricles of the heart<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Lingual septum, a vertical layer of fibrous tissue that separates the halves of the tongue<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

File:Tongue.agr.jpg

The lingual septum can be seen running vertically through the center of the tongue.

• Nasal septum: the cartilage wall separating the nostrils of the nose<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

File:Bronchial anatomy with description.png

Alveolar septa (AS)

• Alveolar septum: the thin wall which separates the alveoli from each other in the lungs<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Orbital septum, a palpebral ligament in the upper and lower eyelids<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
• Septum pellucidum or septum lucidum, a thin structure separating two fluid pockets in the brain<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
• Uterine septum, a malformation of the uterus<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
• Penile septum, a fibrous wall between the two corpora cavernosa penis<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
• Septum glandis, partition of the ventral aspect of the glans penis<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
• Scrotal septum, layer of tissue dividing the scrotum<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
• Vaginal septum, a lateral or transverse partition inside the vagina<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
• Intermuscular septa separating the muscles of the arms and legs

Histological septa are seen throughout most tissues of the body, particularly where they are needed to stiffen soft cellular tissue, and they also provide planes of ingress for small blood vessels.Template:Citation needed Because the dense collagen fibres of a septum usually extend out into the softer adjacent tissues, microscopic fibrous septa are less clearly defined than the macroscopic types of septa listed above.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In rare instances, a septum is a cross-wall. Thus it divides a structure into smaller parts.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Cell biology

The septum (cell biology) is the boundary formed between dividing cells in the course of cell division.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

File:S cerevisiae septins.jpg

Septins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Fungus

File:Septate hyphae of the fungus Alternaria sp.jpg

Septate hyphae of the fungus Alternaria, showing the septa between individual cells

• A partition dividing filamentous hyphae into discrete cells in fungi.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Botany

File:Kumato 02.jpg

A tomato has septa that divide the fruit into chambers (locules) that contain the seeds.

• A partition that separates the locules of a fruit, anther, or sporangium.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Zoology

A coral septum is one of the radial calcareous plates in the corallites of a coral.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Annelids have septa that divide their coelom into segmented chambers.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Many shelled organisms have septa subdividing their shell chamber, including rhizopods, cephalopods and gastropods, the latter seemingly serving as a defence against shell-boring predators.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Laboratory technology

• A rubber septum is an engineered membrane that permits transfer of a substance (usually liquid or gas) without contact with air, usually using a syringe with needle.Template:Citation needed

References

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