A fenestra (fenestration; : fenestrae or fenestrations) is any small opening or pore, commonly used as a term in the
biological sciences.
It is the
Latin word for "window", and is used in various fields to describe a pore in an
anatomical
Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...
structure.
Biological morphology
In
morphology, fenestrae are found in
cancellous bones, particularly in the
skull.
In
anatomy, the
round window and
oval window are also known as the ''fenestra rotunda'' and the ''fenestra ovalis''.
In
microanatomy, fenestrae are found in
endothelium of
fenestrated capillaries
A capillary is a small blood vessel from 5 to 10 micrometres (μm) in diameter. Capillaries are composed of only the tunica intima, consisting of a thin wall of simple squamous endothelial cells. They are the smallest blood vessels in the bod ...
, enabling the rapid exchange of
molecules between the blood and surrounding
tissue.
The
elastic layer of the
tunica intima is a fenestrated membrane. In
surgery
Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...
, a fenestration is a new opening made in a part of the body to enable drainage or access.
Plant biology and mycology
In
plant biology, the perforations in a
perforate leaf are also described as fenestrae, and the leaf is called a fenestrate leaf. The
leaf window is also known as a fenestra,
and is a translucent structure that transmits light, as in ''
Fenestraria''.
Examples of fenestrate structures in the fungal kingdom include the symmetrically arranged gaps in the indusium ("skirt") of the mushroom ''
Phallus duplicatus'',
and the
thallus of the coral lichen ''
Pulchrocladia retipora''.
Zoology
In
zoology, the trilobite ''
Fenestraspis'' possessed extensive fenestrae in the posterior part of the body.
In the
paleognathae, there is an ilio–ischiatic fenestra.
Fenestrae are also used to distinguish the three types of
amniote
Amniotes are a clade of tetrapod vertebrates that comprises sauropsids (including all reptiles and birds, and extinct parareptiles and non-avian dinosaurs) and synapsids (including pelycosaurs and therapsids such as mammals). They are disti ...
:
See also
*
Fenestron, a shrouded tail rotor of a helicopter
References
{{Reflist, colwidth=30em, refs=
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[{{cite book , last1=Beentje , first1=H. , last2=Williamson , first2=J. , year=2010 , title=The Kew Plant Glossary: An Illustrated Dictionary of Plant Terms , publisher=Kew Publishing , location=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew , page=47]
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[{{cite journal , first1=David J. , last1=Holloway , first2=Maria da Gloria Pires de , last2=Carvalho , year=2009 , title=The extraordinary trilobite ''Fenestraspis'' (Dalmanitidae, Synphoriinae) from the Lower Devonian of Bolivia , journal=]Palaeontology
Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...
, volume=52 , issue=4 , pages=933–949 , doi=10.1111/j.1475-4983.2009.00878.x , bibcode=2009Palgy..52..933H , doi-access=free
[{{cite book , last1=Krstić , first=Radivoj V. , title=Human Microscopic Anatomy: An Atlas for Students of Medicine and Biology , publisher=Springer Berlin Heidelberg , publication-place=Berlin, Heidelberg , year=1991 , isbn=978-3-662-02676-2 , oclc=851388484 , page=56]
[{{cite journal , last1=Stocker-Wörgötter , first1=Elfie , last2=Elix , first2=John A. , year=2006 , title=Morphogenetic strategies and induction of secondary metabolite biosynthesis in cultured lichen-forming Ascomycota, as exemplified by ''Cladia retipora'' (Labill.) Nyl. and ''Dactylina arctica'' (Richards) Nyl. , journal=Symbiosis , volume=40 , pages=9–20 , url=https://dalspace.library.dal.ca/bitstream/handle/10222/78197/VOLUME%2041-NUMBER%201-2006-PAGE%209.pdf?sequence=1]
[{{cite book , last1=Ulloa , first1=Miguel , last2=Halin , first2=Richard T. , title=Illustrated Dictionary of Mycology , edition=2nd , year=2012 , publisher=The American Phytopathological Society , location=St. Paul, Minnesota , isbn=978-0-89054-400-6 , page=220]
Anatomy
Biology
Angiology
Fungal morphology and anatomy
sv:Fenestrae