A fenestra (fenestration; plural fenestrae or fenestrations) is any small opening or pore, commonly used as a term in the

biological sciences Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...

. It is the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

word for "window", and is used in various fields to describe a pore in an

anatomical Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...

structure.

Biological morphology

In morphology, fenestrae are found in

cancellous bone A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, and ...

s, particularly in the

skull The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, th ...

. In

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having i ...

, the

round window The round window is one of the two openings from the middle ear into the inner ear. It is sealed by the secondary tympanic membrane (round window membrane), which vibrates with opposite phase to vibrations entering the inner ear through the oval ...

and

oval window The oval window (or ''fenestra vestibuli'' or ''fenestra ovalis'') is a membrane-covered opening from the middle ear to the cochlea of the inner ear. Vibrations that contact the tympanic membrane travel through the three ossicles and into the in ...

are also known as the ''fenestra rotunda'' and the ''fenestra ovalis''. In microanatomy, fenestrae are found in

endothelium The endothelium is a single layer of squamous endothelial cells that line the interior surface of blood vessels and lymphatic vessels. The endothelium forms an interface between circulating blood or lymph in the lumen and the rest of the ve ...

of fenestrated capillaries, enabling the rapid exchange of

molecule A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and b ...

s between the blood and surrounding tissue. The elastic layer of the

tunica intima The tunica intima ( New Latin "inner coat"), or intima for short, is the innermost tunica (layer) of an artery or vein. It is made up of one layer of endothelial cells and is supported by an internal elastic lamina. The endothelial cells are ...

is a fenestrated membrane. In

surgery Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pa ...

, a fenestration is a new opening made in a part of the body to enable drainage or access.

Plant biology and mycology

plant biology Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Gree ...

, the perforations in a perforate leaf are also described as fenestrae, and the leaf is called a fenestrate leaf. The leaf window is also known as a fenestra, and is a translucent structure that transmits light, as in '' Fenestraria''. Examples of fenestrate structures in the fungal kingdom include the symmetrically arranged gaps in the indusium ("skirt") of the mushroom ''

Phallus duplicatus ''Phallus duplicatus'' (common name, netted stinkhorn or wood witch) is a species of fungus in the stinkhorn family. The bell-shaped to oval cap is green-brown, the cylindrical stalk is white. When mature the cap becomes sticky with a slimy gre ...

'', and the

thallus Thallus (plural: thalli), from Latinized Greek (), meaning "a green shoot" or "twig", is the vegetative tissue of some organisms in diverse groups such as algae, fungi, some liverworts, lichens, and the Myxogastria. Many of these organisms ...

of the coral lichen '' Pulchrocladia retipora''.

Zoology

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, an ...

, the trilobite '' Fenestraspis'' possessed extensive fenestrae in the posterior part of the body. In the

paleognathae Palaeognathae (; ) is a infraclass of birds, called paleognaths, within the class Aves of the clade Archosauria. It is one of the two extant infraclasses of birds, the other being Neognathae, both of which form Neornithes. Palaeognathae contain ...

, there is an ilio–ischiatic fenestra. Fenestrae are also used to distinguish the three types of

amniote Amniotes are a clade of tetrapod vertebrates that comprises sauropsids (including all reptiles and birds, and extinct parareptiles and non-avian dinosaurs) and synapsids (including pelycosaurs and therapsids such as mammals). They are dis ...

References

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Palaeontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

, volume=52 , issue=4 , pages=933–949 , doi=10.1111/j.1475-4983.2009.00878.x , doi-access=free {{cite book , last1=Krstić , first=Radivoj V. , title=Human Microscopic Anatomy: An Atlas for Students of Medicine and Biology , publisher=Springer Berlin Heidelberg , publication-place=Berlin, Heidelberg , year=1991 , isbn=978-3-662-02676-2 , oclc=851388484 , page=56 {{cite journal , last1=Stocker-Wörgötter , first1=Elfie , last2=Elix , first2=John A. , year=2006 , title=Morphogenetic strategies and induction of secondary metabolite biosynthesis in cultured lichen-forming Ascomycota, as exemplified by ''Cladia retipora'' (Labill.) Nyl. and ''Dactylina arctica'' (Richards) Nyl. , journal=Symbiosis , volume=40 , pages=9–20 , url=https://dalspace.library.dal.ca/bitstream/handle/10222/78197/VOLUME%2041-NUMBER%201-2006-PAGE%209.pdf?sequence=1 {{cite book , last1=Ulloa , first1=Miguel , last2=Halin , first2=Richard T. , title=Illustrated Dictionary of Mycology , edition=2nd , year=2012 , publisher=The American Phytopathological Society , location=St. Paul, Minnesota , isbn=978-0-89054-400-6 , page=220 Anatomy Biology Angiology Fungal morphology and anatomy sv:Fenestrae

Biological morphology

Plant biology and mycology

Zoology

See also

References