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Inbiological morphology and anatomy, a sulcus (pl.: sulci) is a furrow or fissure (Latin fissura, pl.: fissurae). It may be a groove, natural division, deep furrow, elongated cleft, or tear in the surface of a limb or an organ, most notably on the surface of the brain, but also in the lungs, certain muscles (including the heart), as well as in bones, and elsewhere. Many sulci are the product of a surface fold or junction, such as in the gums, where they fold around the neck of the tooth.
Ininvertebrate zoology, a sulcus is a fold, groove, or boundary, especially at the edges of sclerites or between segments.
Inpollen, a grain that is grooved by a sulcus is termed sulcate.
In the brain, a sulcus is a groove formed in the stage of gyrification by the folding of the cortex. There are many sulci and gyri formed. A larger than usual sulcus may instead be called a fissure such as the longitudinal fissure that separates the two hemispheres.
