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Definition of "umbilicus" []

  • See navel. (noun)
  • Biology A small opening or depression similar to a navel, as the hollow at the base of the shell of some gastropod mollusks, one of the openings in the shaft of a feather, or the hilum of a seed. (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.

Use "umbilicus" in a sentence
  • "These are what is called the umbilicus, for this is a blood-vessel, consisting of one or more vessels in different animals."
  • "The umbilicus is a cicatrix formed after the metamorphosis of a median foetal structure -- the placental cord, &c."
  • "The upper jaw of the animal was fixed in the left side of the belly, forming a semicircular wound of which a point one inch to the left of the umbilicus was the upper boundary, and the lower part of the upper third of the thigh, the lower boundary."