squamous
/ˈskweɪməs
/adjective
1Covered with or characterized by scales: a squamous black hide
1.1 Anatomy Relating to, consisting of, or denoting a layer of epithelium that consists of very thin flattened cells: squamous cell carcinoma...
- In some areas, the glandular epithelium showed squamous and transitional cell metaplasia.
- These cells, about 40 m in diameter and termed primary oocytes, are enclosed within a single layer of squamous cells, forming a primordial follicle.
- Differential cell counts were made by examining 500 nucleated cells, excluding squamous and bronchial epithelial cells.
1.2 [attributive] Anatomy Denoting the flat portion of the temporal bone which forms part of the side of the skull.The squamous part of the temporal bone may exhibit a sizable, extra process just anterior to the external acoustic meatus, called the postglenoid process.
Origin
Late Middle English: from Latin squamosus, from squama 'scale'.