ventricle

Etymology

From late Middle English, from Latin ventriculus (“the belly”), diminutive of venter (“the belly”). Doublet of ventriculus.

noun

1. (anatomy, zootomy) Any small cavity within a body; a hollow part or organ, especially:
   1. One of two lower chambers of the heart.
      Coordinate term: atrium
      Meronyms: left ventricle, right ventricle
      The muscular ventricles pump blood by contracting their fibers in response to electrical stimulation. 2018, Sandeep Jauhar, Heart: a History, page 47
   2. (neuroanatomy) One of four fluid-filled cavities in the brain, that are continuous with the central canal of the spinal cord.
      Meronyms: fourth ventricle, lateral ventricle, third ventricle
   3. (archaic) The stomach.
      [On birds] Where omitting the more general Properties, of having two Ventricles, and picking up stones to conveigh them into their second Ventricle, the Gizzern, (which provision and instinct is a supply for the want of teeth;) […] 1662, Henry More, An Antidote Against Atheism, Book II: A Collection of Several Philosophical Writings of Dr. Henry More, page 72
   4. (archaic) The womb.