a yellow glandular mass of tissue that forms in a Graafian follicle following release of an ovum. It secretes progesterone, a hormone necessary to maintain pregnancy
Word origin
New Latin, literally: yellow body
corpus luteum in American English
(ˈlutiəm)
Word forms: pluralˈcorpora lutea (ˈlutiə)
1. Anatomy
a mass of yellow tissue formed in the ovary by a ruptured graafian follicle that has discharged its ovum: if the ovum is fertilized, this tissue secretes the hormone progesterone, needed to maintain pregnancy
2.
a preparation containing this hormone, used in ovarian therapy; progesterone