Dictionary
Thesaurus
Medical
Scrabble®
Spanish Central
Browse DictionaryBrowse Thesaurus
Get our free apps!iPhone•iPad•Android
Games
Word of the Day
Video
Blog: Words at Play
My Faves
Medical Dictionary

Stensen's duct

noun Sten·sen's duct

Medical Definition of STENSEN'S DUCT

:  parotid duct

Biographical Note for STENSEN'S DUCT

Sten·sen Niels (1638–1686), Danish anatomist and geologist. Although Stensen had prepared to become a physician and eventually became a Catholic priest, his importance in science rests with his anatomical and geological researches. An early discovery was the duct of the parotid gland in 1660. In 1669 he published his geological observations in a work that was seminal to the development of geology. He put forth the revolutionary concept that fossils are the remains of ancient living organisms. He was the first to realize that the earth's crust contains a chronological history of geologic events and that the earth's history could be reconstructed by a careful analysis of the strata and fossils.

Variants of STENSEN'S DUCT

Sten·sen's duct also Sten·son's duct \ˈsten-sənz-\

Browse

2 ENTRIES FOUND:
  1. Stensen's duct (noun)
  2. Bohr theory (noun)
10 Charming Words for Nasty People
Put-downs with flair
Learn More
When "Literally" isn't, well, literal
How to use a word that (literally) drives some people nuts.
Watch Now
Know what this is?
Test your vocab with our fun, fast game
Go Play
Fear of cats?
Ailurophobia, and 9 other unusual fears
Learn More
Join Us
Merriam-Webster
on Facebook
Merriam-Webster
on Twitter
Bookstore: Digital and Print
Merriam-Webster references for Mobile, Kindle, print, and more.
See All
Other Merriam-Webster Dictionaries