Punctum, plural puncta, adjective punctate, is an anatomical term for a sharp point or tip. It may also refer to:

Medical

Lacrimal punctum The lacrimal punctum (: puncta) or lacrimal point is a minute opening on the summits of the lacrimal papillae, seen on the margins of the eyelids at the lateral extremity of the lacrimal lake. There are two lacrimal puncta in the medial (inside) ...

, a minute opening on the margins of the eyelids that collect tears produced by the lacrimal glands *

Blind spot (vision) A blind spot, scotoma, is an obscuration of the visual field. A particular blind spot known as the ''physiological blind spot'', "blind point", or ''punctum caecum'' in medical literature, is the place in the visual field that corresponds to ...

, or ''punctum cecum'', the blind spot in human vision corresponding to the location of the optic disk *

Erb's point (neurology) The nerve point of the neck, also known as Erb's point, is a site at the upper trunk of the brachial plexus located 2–3 cm above the clavicle. It is named for Wilhelm Heinrich Erb. Taken together, there are six types of nerves that meet ...

or ''punctum nervosum'', a nerve point in the human neck * Imperforate lacrimal punctum, a congenital disorder of dogs

Unrelated species named punctum

*'' Allium punctum'', a species of wild onion *'' Amyna punctum'', a moth of the family Noctuidae *''

Cinguloterebra punctum ''Terebra punctum'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Terebridae The Terebridae, commonly referred to as auger shells or auger snails, is a Family (biology), family of predatory marine (ocean), marine gastrop ...

'', a sea snail of the family Terebridae *''

Phylloxiphia punctum ''Phylloxiphia punctum'' is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is known from savanna from north-eastern South Africa to Zimbabwe, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania ...

'', a moth of the family Sphingidae *''

Sepsis punctum ''Sepsis punctum'' is a European species of fly and member of the family Sepsidae The Sepsidae are a family (biology), family of Fly, flies, commonly called the black scavenger flies or ensign flies. Over 300 species are described worldwide. T ...

'', a fly of the family Sepsidae *'' Zygaena punctum'', a moth of the family Zygaenidae

Other

* ''Punctum'' (gastropod), a genus of land snails * Punctum delens, typographic marks used to indicate deletion *

Neume A neume (; sometimes spelled neum) is the basic element of Western and some Eastern systems of musical notation prior to the invention of five-line staff (music), staff notation. The earliest neumes were inflective marks that indicated the gener ...

, the basic element of Western and Eastern systems of musical notation prior to the invention of five-line staff notation *

Equant Equant (or punctum aequans) is a mathematical concept developed by Claudius Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD to account for the observed motion of the planets. The equant is used to explain the observed speed change in different stages of the plane ...

, punctum aequans, is a mathematical concept developed by Claudius Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD to account for the observed motion of heavenly bodies *A concept in the 1980 French philosophy book ''

Camera Lucida A ''camera lucida'' is an optical device used as a drawing aid by artists and microscopy, microscopists. It projects an optics, optical superimposition of the subject being viewed onto the surface upon which the artist is drawing. The artist se ...

'' *A medieval unit of time corresponding to a quarter-hour *In photography, a term used by

Roland Barthes Roland Gérard Barthes (; ; 12 November 1915 – 25 March 1980) was a French literary theorist, essayist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. His work engaged in the analysis of a variety of sign systems, mainly derived from Western popu ...

to refer to an incidental but personally poignant detail in a photograph *Punctate, a botanical term meaning marked with an indefinite number of dots, spots, pits or glands {{disambiguation