Definition of "diverticulum" [div•er•tic•u•lum]

• A pouch or sac branching out from a hollow organ or structure, such as the intestine. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "A diverticulum is an out-pouching, or small pocket, in the wall of the large intestine."
• "As a rule the duct undergoes complete obliteration during the seventh week, but in about three per cent. of cases its proximal part persists as a diverticulum from the small intestine, Meckel’s diverticulum, which is situated about three or four feet above the ileocolic junction, and may be attached by a fibrous cord to the abdominal wall at the umbilicus."
• "The Latin word diverticulum means 'wayside house of ill repute'; in medical terms, diverticulae are little pockets that form in the wall of the large intestine."