How did you do on the last blog post pop quiz of veterinary glossary words? Whether you aced the quiz or are hungry for more knowledge, today’s LazyPaw Animal Hospitals blog might keep you guessing. Chew on these brainteasers to help your noggin get in shape for the upcoming school year!
Plastron
It may sound like the world’s newest super hero, but the plastron is the ventral part of a turtle’s shell. The nearly flat belly is made of nine bones. Some species have a hinge between the plastron and curved part of the shell, allowing the turtle to completely enclose itself inside. Other species have different shaped plastrons depending on the gender of the turtle—concave for male, and convex for female. Fun fact: Plastrons are also quilted pads worn to protect the chest, side, and waist while fencing.
Quadrivalent
Quadrivalent describes a group of four related (homologous) chromosomes. The word is synonymous with tetravalent, which means a valence of four. In chemistry, valence refers to how much power an atom has, a factor determined by how many electrons an atom will lose, gain or share when it forms compounds. How does quadrivalent relate directly to you? The flu vaccine, which had long been trivalent, is now quadrivalent—meaning it now protects against four different flu viruses.
Radiolucent
Radiolucent objects don’t show up in X-rays. The term refers to anything that looks black or gray when seen through a radiograph, more commonly known as an X-ray machine. Anything that does show up in a radiograph, such as bone, appears in several shades of grey. Air and tissue appear black.
Saccule
This is a tiny sac on the inside of the ear that’s essential to maintaining balance. Located directly next to the spiral cochlea (which resembles a snail’s shell), the saccule translates head movement into impulses the brain reads to determine how to balance the body. When the head moves, sensory cells in the saccule are disturbed and the brain compensates; if movement is too disturbed, we become dizzy.
Thrombus
Commonly known as a blood clot, the thrombus is a collection of blood vessels attached to the inside of a vein or vessel. An embolism is a similar type of clot, except embolisms travel from the sites where they were formed to another part of the body.