bursa

Meaning

1. Any of the many small fluid-filled sacs located at the point where a muscle or tendon slides across bone. These sacs serve to reduce friction between the two moving surfaces.
2. A diverticulum on the cloaca of young birds, which serves as a lymphatic organ and as part of the immune system, but which atrophies as the bird ages.
3. Any of various pouch-like organs for storing semen prior to copulation in the male or for receiving semen in the female.
4. A parament about twelve inches square in which the folded corporal is kept in for reasons of reverence.

Synonyms

capsule

cyst

hydatid

pouch

👝

sac

sack

serous bursa

mucous bursa

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈbɜːsə/

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin bursa (“purse”), from Ancient Greek βύρσα (búrsa); compare purse and bourse, which are doublets.