nounplural noun valleculae/-ˌlē/ /-ˌlī/

• A groove or furrow.

  ‘Double swallow to clear residue in the valleculae.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘In normal persons, small amounts of food are commonly retained in the valleculae or pyriform sinus after swallowing.’
  • ‘Eight different bones from Australian species of fish and a king prawn shell were selected and each was positioned individually in the tonsil, vallecula and piriform fossa.’
  • ‘Proceed with the curved blade into the vallecula or straight over the epiglottis with the straight blade.’
  • ‘Examination of the oropharynx revealed a large midline mass extending along the posterior pharyngeal wall from the level of soft palate to vallecula.’