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皮质 (pí zhì) — cortex (especially cerebral cortex; also used for renal cortex, etc.)

Definition

Anatomy/biology term for 'cortex' — the outer layer of an organ. In most contexts it refers to the cerebral cortex (大脑皮质); 肾皮质, 肾上腺皮质 are specific named layers.

noun
cortex (especially cerebral cortex; also used for renal cortex, etc.)

Examples

  • 皮质。
    Dà nǎo pí zhì shì fù zé gāo jí sī wéi de qū yù.
    The cerebral cortex is the area responsible for higher-level thinking.
  • 皮质。
    Yī shēng jiǎn chá le tā de shèn pí zhì gōng néng.
    The doctor checked his renal cortex function.
  • 皮质。
    Cháng qī yā lì huì yǐng xiǎng dà nǎo pí zhì de jiàn kāng.
    Long-term stress can affect the health of the cerebral cortex.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

皮pískin
质zhìsubstance

皮 (skin) and 质 (substance) combine to name the outer skin-like tissue of an organ.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

皮 shows a hand pulling fur off an animal pelt, with the pelt drawn at the upper left.

Open 皮 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 質; 质 is its simplified writing.

  • 斦斦yín
  • 貝貝bèi

The traditional form 質 is made up of 貝 and 斦; this describes 質, not the simplified 质.

Open 质 →
Appears in
BiologyOrgans & Anatomy

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