epithelium

See also: épithélium

English

Etymology

From New Latin epithēlium.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌɛpɪˈθiːlɪəm/
• Rhymes: -iːliəm

Noun

epithelium (plural epitheliums or epithelia)

1. (anatomy) A membranous tissue composed of one or more layers of cells which forms the covering of most internal and external surfaces of the body and its organs: internally including the lining of vessels and other small cavities, and externally being the skin.

   Synonym: epithelial tissue

   • 1969, Vladimir Nabokov, Ada or Ardor, Penguin, published 2011, page 25:

     the passenger's roving eyes paused for a moment as he listened inwardly to a nether itch, which he supposed to be (correctly, thank Log) only a minor irritation of the epithelium.

   • 2014 May 30, Victor Kuete, Toxicological Survey of African Medicinal Plants, Elsevier, →ISBN, page 505:

     The sap of this species was able to cause loss of corneal epithelium 16 h after direct exposure to the sap in a 60-year-old male.

Hyponyms

English terms suffixed with -thelium

• endothelium
• urothelium

Derived terms

• epithelial
• iris pigmented epithelium
• neoepithelium
• pavement epithelium
• simple squamous epithelium
• stratified columnar epithelium
• -thelium
• transitional epithelium

 

Related terms

• thelarche
• thelion
• thelitis
• thelium

Translations

membranous tissue

• Afrikaans: epiteelweefsel
• Arabic: نَسِيج طِلَائِيّ (nasīj ṭilāʔiyy)
• Basque: epitelio
• Bulgarian: епителна тъкан f (epitelna tǎkan)
• Catalan: epiteli (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 上皮 (zh) (shàngpí)

• Czech: výstelka f, epitel (cs) m, epitelová tkáň
• Danish: epitel
• Dutch: epitheel (nl)
• Esperanto: epitelio
• Finnish: epiteelikudos
• French: épithélium (fr) m
• German: Epithel n
• Greek: επιθήλιο (el) n (epithílio)
• Hebrew: אפיתל (he)
• Hungarian: hám (hu)
• Ido: epitelio (io)
• Indonesian: jaringan epitel
• Italian: epitelio (it) m, tessuto epiteliale
• Japanese: 上皮組織 (jōhi sosiki), 上皮 (ja) (じょうひ, jōhi), 上皮細胞 (jōhi saibō)
• Kazakh: эпителий (épitelii)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: rûkeşeşane f, şaneya rûkeş f

• Latin: epithelium n, textus epithelialis m
• Low German: epithel
• Malay: epitelium (ms)
• Norwegian: epitel
• Persian: بافت پوششی
• Polish: tkanka nabłonkowa, tkanka graniczna, nabłonek (pl)
• Portuguese: epitélio
• Romanian: țesut epitelial n
• Russian: эпите́лий (ru) m (epitélij)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: епително тки̑во

  Roman: epitelsko tkȋvo

• Slovak: epitel (sk)
• Slovene: krovno tkivo
• Spanish: epitelio (es) m
• Swedish: epitel (sv)
• Tajik: ^{(please verify)} бофтаи эпителӣ (bofta-yi epiteli)
• Thai: เนื้อเยื่อบุผิว (néua yêua bù pĭw)
• Turkish: epitel (tr)
• Ukrainian: епітелій n (epitelij)
• Urdu: ظہارہ
• Vietnamese: biểu mô

See also

• epidermis

Latin

Etymology

Introduced by Frederik Ruysch in the 18th century, originally referring to the covering of small "nipples" of tissue on the lip. Initially a first-declension noun epithēlia, from Ancient Greek ἐπι- (epi-, “on, atop”) +‎ Ancient Greek θηλή (thēlḗ, “nipple”) +‎ -ia; the nominative singular was later reinterpreted as a second-declension neuter plural.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /e.piˈtʰeː.li.um/, [ɛpɪˈt̪ʰeːlʲiʊ̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /e.piˈte.li.um/, [epiˈt̪ɛːlium]

Noun

epithēlium n (genitive epithēliī); second declension

1. (New Latin, anatomy) epithelium

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	epithēlium	epithēlia
Genitive	epithēliī	epithēliōrum
Dative	epithēliō	epithēliīs
Accusative	epithēlium	epithēlia
Ablative	epithēliō	epithēliīs
Vocative	epithēlium	epithēlia

References

• “epithelium, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2024.