lobulär

Lobulær is an adjective used in Norwegian (and Danish) to describe tissues, organs, or structures that are divided into small segments called lobules, or that exhibit a lobulated architecture. The term derives from the Latin lobulus, meaning “little lobe,” and the Scandinavian suffix -ær forms adjectives such as lobulær meaning “pertaining to a lobule.”

In anatomy, lobulær describes glands or organs organized into lobules separated by connective tissue septa. Examples include lobulære kirtler such as the mammary gland, or hepatobiliary tissue with a lobular architecture. In botany, leaves or fruits can be described as lobulær when they possess small lobes.

In medical pathology, the term is commonly used in diagnoses such as infiltrerende lobulært karsinom, a breast cancer form where tumor cells invade in a relatively single-file pattern and may be harder to detect on imaging than ductalt (ductal) carcinoma. The term also appears in descriptions of non-neoplastic tissue, for example lobulær forandring meaning changes within the lobular units of an organ.

See also: lobule, lobular carcinoma, lobular architecture.