Septum

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See Ceuta#History for the city in Roman Mauretania.

In biology, a septum (Latin for something that encloses; plural septa) is a wall, dividing a cavity or structure into smaller ones.

Examples

Human anatomy

  • Interatrial septum, the wall of tissue that is a sectional part of the left and right atria of the heart
  • Interventricular septum, the wall separating the left and right ventricles of the heart
  • Lingual septum, a vertical layer of fibrous tissue that separates the halves of the tongue
  • Nasal septum: the cartilage wall separating the nostrils of the nose
Alveolar septa (AS)

Histological septa are seen throughout most tissues of the body, particularly where they are needed to stiffen soft cellular tissue, and they also provide planes of ingress for small blood vessels. Because the dense collagen fibres of a septum usually extend out into the softer adjacent tissues, microscopic fibrous septa are less clearly defined than the macroscopic types of septa listed above. In rare instances, a septum is a cross-wall. Thus it divides a structure into smaller parts.

Cell biology

The Septum (cell biology) is the boundary formed between dividing cells in the course of cell division.

Fungus

  • A partition dividing filamentous hyphae into discrete cells in fungi.

Botany

A tomato has septa that divide the fruit into chambers (locules) that contain the seeds.
  • A partition that separates the locules of a fruit, anther, or sporangium.

Zoology