A ''lamella'' (plural ''lamellae'') is a small plate or flake, from the Latin, and may also be used to refer to collections of fine sheets of material held adjacent to one another, in a gill-shaped structure, often with fluid in between though sometimes simply a set of 'welded' plates. The term is used in

biological Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary in ...

contexts to describe thin membranes of plates of tissue. In context of materials science, the microscopic structures in bone and

nacre Nacre ( , ), also known as mother of pearl, is an organicinorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer; it is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent. Nacre is f ...

are called lamellae. Moreover, the term lamella is often used as a way to describe crystal structure of some materials.

Uses of the term

In surface chemistry (especially

mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proces ...

and materials science), lamellar structures are fine layers, alternating between different materials. They can be produced by chemical effects (as in eutectic solidification), biological means, or a deliberate process of lamination, such as

pattern welding Pattern welding is the practice in sword and knife making of forming a blade of several metal pieces of differing composition that are forge welding, forge-welded together and twisted and manipulated to form a pattern. Often mistakenly called Dam ...

. Lamellae can also describe the layers of atoms in the

crystal lattice In geometry and crystallography, a Bravais lattice, named after , is an infinite array of discrete points generated by a set of discrete translation operations described in three dimensional space by : \mathbf = n_1 \mathbf_1 + n_2 \mathbf_2 + n ...

s of materials such as metals. In surface anatomy, a lamella is a thin plate-like structure, often one amongst many lamellae very close to one another, with open space between. In chemical engineering, the term is used for devices such as filters and heat exchangers. In mycology, a lamella (or gill) is a papery hymenophore rib under the cap of some mushroom species, most often agarics. The term has been used to describe the construction of lamellar armour, as well as the layered structures that can be described by a lamellar vector field. In medical professions, especially orthopedic surgery, the term is used to refer to

3D printed 3D printing or additive manufacturing is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer co ...

titanium technology which is used to create

implant Implant can refer to: Medicine *Implant (medicine), or specifically: ** Brain implant ** Breast implant **Buttock implant **Cochlear implant **Contraceptive implant **Dental implant ** Fetal tissue implant **Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator ...

able medical devices (in this case, orthopedic implants). In context of water-treatment, lamellar filters may be referred to as ''plate filters'' or ''tube filters''. This term is used to describe a certain type of ichthyosis, a congenital skin condition. Lamellar Ichthyosis often presents with a "colloidal" membrane at birth. It is characterized by generalized dark scaling. The term ''lamella(e)'' is used in the flooring industry to describe the finished top-layer of an engineered wooden floor. For example, an engineered walnut floor will have several layers of wood and a top walnut lamella. In archaeology, the term is used for a variety of small flat and thin objects, such as Amulet MS 5236, a very thin gold plate with a stamped text from Ancient Greece in the 6th century BC. In

crystallography Crystallography is the experimental science of determining the arrangement of atoms in crystalline solids. Crystallography is a fundamental subject in the fields of materials science and solid-state physics (condensed matter physics). The wor ...

, the term was first used by

Christopher Chantler Professor Christopher T. Chantler is an Australian physicist, currently at University of Melbourne and an Elected Fellow of the American Physical Society who has had works published in the ''Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data'', the ...

and refers to a very thin layer of a perfect crystal, from which curved crystal physics may be derived. In textile industry, a lamella is a thin metallic strip used alone or wound around a core thread for goldwork embroidery and tapestry weaving. In September 2010, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a

recall Recall may refer to: * Recall (bugle call), a signal to stop * Recall (information retrieval), a statistical measure * ''ReCALL'' (journal), an academic journal about computer-assisted language learning * Recall (memory) * ''Recall'' (Overwatch ...

of two medications which contained "extremely thin glass flakes (lamellae) that are barely visible in most cases. The lamellae result from the interaction of the formulation with

glass vial A vial (also known as a phial or flacon) is a small glass or plastic vessel or bottle, often used to store medication as liquids, powders or capsules. They can also be used as scientific sample vessels; for instance, in autosampler devices i ...

s over the shelf life of the product."Amgen Initiates Voluntary Nationwide Recall of Certain Lots Of Epogen And Procrit (Epoetin Alfa)
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References

Materials science {{Materials-sci-stub

Uses of the term

See also

References