mucous membranen.
/ˌmjuːkəs ˈmɛmbreɪn/, U.S. /ˌmjukəs ˈmɛmˌbreɪn/ Anatomy and Zoology.
The tissue lining the cavities and hollow viscera that communicate with the surface of the body, consisting of a layer of epithelium, a lamina propria of loose connective tissue, and often a thin layer of smooth muscle, and usually containing mucus-secreting cells or glands; an example or type of such tissue, esp. that lining a particular organ or cavity. Cf. mucosa n.
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the world > life > the body > bodily substance > membrane > [noun] > mucous
internal membrane1638
mucous membrane1801
mucous tissue1833
mucous layer1861
1801 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 6 449 Mucous membranes, secerning mucus by small glands, and covering the inner surface of all hollow organs that communicate with the surface of the body.
1828 Lancet 14 June 326/1 Diseases affecting the mucous membranes.
1881 St. G. Mivart Cat 21 Inside the lips and mouth it becomes soft and moist, and is termed mucous membrane.
1949 H. Bailey Demonstr. Physical Signs Clin. Surg. (ed. 11) xx. 234 In such cases the pus may have tracked upwards under the mucous membrane.
1990 Health Guardian Mar.–Apr. 9/1 An abnormal sensitivity of the mucous membranes of eyes, nose and air passages causes them to react..to seasonal pollens.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1801