Definition of "lamella" [la•mel•la]

• A thin scale, plate, or layer of bone or tissue, as in the gills of a bivalve mollusk or around the minute vascular canals in bone. (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 hypnotic repeating diamond structure called a lamella acts as both roof and wall motif for the shelter."
• "The artery lies at first in front of the cochlea and tympanic cavity; from the latter cavity it is separated by a thin, bony lamella, which is cribriform in the young subject, and often partly absorbed in old age."
• "The cell also develops a broad, fan-shaped protrusion called a lamella along its leading edges, which helps move it forward."