In anatomy, a canaliculus is a small passageway.
Examples include:
* Two functionally different structures in bone:
**
Bone canaliculus, a small channel found in ossified bone for nutrition for example in the
Haversian canal
** A small
canal (anatomy) In anatomy, a canal (or canalis in Latin) is a tubular passage or channel which connects different regions of the body.
Examples include:
* Cranial Region
** Alveolar canals
** Carotid canal
** Facial canal
** Greater palatine canal
** Incis ...
in bone which carries some structure (such as a nerve) through it
*
Canaliculus (parietal cell), an adaptation found on gastric parietal cells
* The
lacrimal canaliculi
The lacrimal canaliculi, (sing. canaliculus), are the small channels in each eyelid that drain lacrimal fluid, from the lacrimal puncta to the lacrimal sac. This forms part of the lacrimal apparatus that drains lacrimal fluid from the surface ...
, several small ducts in the eye
* The
dental canaliculi
Bone canaliculi are microscopic canals between the lacunae of ossified bone. The radiating processes of the osteocytes (called filopodia) project into these canals. These cytoplasmic processes are joined together by gap junctions. Osteocytes do ...
, the blood supply within a tooth
*
Bile canaliculi
Bile canaliculus (plural:bile canaliculi; also called bile capillaries) is a thin tube that collects bile
Bile (from Latin ''bilis''), or gall, is a dark-green-to-yellowish-brown fluid produced by the liver of most vertebrates that aids the ...
, where the bile produced by the hepatocytes is drained
*
Inferior tympanic canaliculus
The inferior tympanic canaliculus is a small passage of the tympanic branch of the glossopharyngeal nerve and inferior tympanic artery.
In the bony ridge dividing the carotid canal from the jugular fossa is the small inferior tympanic canalicu ...
, the passage for the tympanic branch of the glossopharyngeal nerve and inferior tympanic artery
*
Foramen petrosum
The lesser petrosal nerve (also known as the small superficial petrosal nerve) is the general visceral efferent (GVE) component of the glossopharyngeal nerve (CN IX), carrying parasympathetic preganglionic fibers from the tympanic plexus to the pa ...
(canaliculus innominatus), a small occasional opening in the greater wing of the sphenoid bone
{{disambiguation