fascicle

plural fascicles

1. A bundle or cluster.
2. anatomyA bundle of skeletal muscle fibers surrounded by connective tissue.
3. biologyA cluster of flowers or leaves, such as the bundles of the thin leaves (or needles) of pines.
4. biologyA discrete bundle of vascular tissue.
5. mediaA discrete section of a book issued or published separately, generally as a temporary measure while the work is in progress.

   The OED [Oxford English Dictionary] was initially published in a series of 125 slim fascicles between the years 1884 and 1928. The first complete edition in ten volumes was published in 1928.

   1993, Donna Lee Berg, A Guide to the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 3

   2 more examples

   I was inspired to prepare fascicles like this by the example of Charles Dickens, who issued his novels in serial form; he published a dozen installments of Oliver Twist before having any idea what would become of Bill Sikes!

   2005, Donald E. Knuth, MMIX–A RISC Computer for the New Millennium (The Art of Computer Programming), volume 1, Addison-Wesley Professional, →ISBN, page iii

   The printed book appeared in a variety of forms during the course of its history in China. These included, among others, the “whirlwind” binding (xuanfeng zhuang), […] the “thread” binding (xianzhuang), a technical designation that refers to the silken or cotton filaments used to stitch together folded sheets of paper into fascicles.

   2005, Anne Burkus-Chasson, “Visual Hermeneutics and the Act of Turning the Leaf”, in Cynthia Joanne Brokaw, Kai-wing Chow, editors, Printing and Book Culture in Late Imperial China, University of California Press, →ISBN, page 371

   Synonyms: serial