Stylolite
noun, Geology.
1.
an irregular columnar structure in certain limestones, the columns being approximately at right angles to the bedding planes.
noun
1.
any of the small striated columnar or irregular structures within the strata of some limestones
stylolite
(stī’lə-līt’)
A contact surface usually found between two calcareous rock layers, marked by a series of jagged interlocking up-and-down projections that resemble a suture or the tracing of a stylus. Stylolites are found in rocks that have been subjected to pressure and are formed by a process, called pressure dissolution, whereby insoluble material, such as clay and hydrocarbons, becomes concentrated along a surface while other more soluble material, such as calcite, is carried away.
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stylomastoid artery sty·lo·mas·toid artery (stī’lō-mās’toid’) n. An artery with origin in the posterior auricular artery, with distribution to the external ear, mastoid cells, semicircular canals, stapedius muscle, and vestibule, and with anastomoses to the tympanic branches of the internal carotid and the ascending pharyngeal arteries, and to the auditory branch of the basilar artery.
- Stylomastoid foramen
stylomastoid foramen n. An opening on the lower surface of the temporal bone, between the styloid and mastoid processes, that transmits the facial nerve and the stylomastoid artery.
- Stylomastoid vein
stylomastoid vein n. A vein that drains the tympanic cavity and empties into the retromandibular vein.
- Stylopharyngeal muscle
stylopharyngeal muscle sty·lo·pha·ryn·ge·al muscle (stī’lō-fə-rĭn’jē-əl, -jəl, -fār’ĭn-jē’əl) n. A muscle with origin from the root of the styloid process, with insertion into the thyroid cartilage and the wall of the pharynx, with nerve supply from the glossopharyngeal nerve, and whose action elevates the pharynx and the larynx.
- Stylophone
noun 1. a type of battery-powered electronic instrument played with a steel-tipped penlike stylus