Dictionary:

tubule

  (tū'byūl, tyū'-)

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A very small tube or tubular structure.

[Latin tubulus, diminutive of tubus, tube.]

A small tube, such as one of the collecting tubules in the kidneys. The dentin of the tooth contains dentinal tubules that communicate from the pulp to the dentinoenamal interface.

A small tube; a minute canal found in various structures or organs of the body.

• collecting t's — the terminal channels of the nephrons which open on the summits of the renal papillae or renal crests.
• convoluted t's — channels which follow a tortuous course. See also renal tubules (below) and tubuli contorti.
• dentinal t's — minute channels in the dentine of a tooth that extend from the pulp cavity to the cement or the enamel. Called also dentinal canaliculi.
• galactophorous t's — small channels for the passage of milk from the secreting cells in the mammary gland. Called also lactiferous ducts.
• Henle's t's — see henle's tubules.
• lactiferous t's — see lactiferous ducts.
• mesonephric t's — the tubules comprising the mesonephros, or temporary kidney, of amniotes.
• metanephric t's — the tubules comprising the permanent kidney of amniotes.
• proximal t. — intrarenal site for the reabsorption of most of the protein in the tubular fluid.
• proximal convoluted t. — the portion of the nephron immediately succeeding the glomerulus; susceptible to disease because of its early exposure to toxins in the glomerular filtrate.
• renal t's — the minute canals made up of basement membrane and lined with epithelium, composing the substance of the kidney and secreting, reabsorbing, collecting and conducting the urine. Include proximal convoluted, the nephron loop (containing the proximal straight tubule, descending and ascending thin, and the distal straight tubules) and the distal convoluted tubules.
• seminiferous t's — the tubules of the testis, in which spermatozoa develop and through which they leave the gland.
• uriniferous t's — renal tubules; channels for the passage of urine.

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