nodule

/ˈnɑdʒəl/

/ˈnɒdʒəl/

Other forms: nodules

A nodule is a small, raised bump under the skin. You might notice a nodule on the top of your foot after spraining your ankle.

Any solid bump or node that you can feel just beneath your skin is a nodule. You may have noticed nodules in your neck when you have a sore throat or a nodule on your shin where you bumped it into the coffee table. Another kind of nodule is very similar, but appears on a plant's surface. The Latin root word is nodulus, "small knot," from nodus, or "knot."

Definitions of nodule

1. noun

   a small node
   type of:

   node

   any bulge or swelling of an anatomical structure or part
2. noun

   small rounded wartlike protuberance on a plant
   synonyms: tubercle

   type of:

   enation, plant process

   a natural projection or outgrowth from a plant body or organ
3. noun

   (mineralogy) a small rounded lump of mineral substance (usually harder than the surrounding rock or sediment)
   types:

   geode

   (mineralogy) a hollow rock or nodule with the cavity usually lined with crystals

   type of:

   hunk, lump

   a large piece of something without definite shape