glomus

plural glomera

1. A fold of the mesothelium arising near the base of the mesentery in the pronephron, and containing a ball of blood vessels.
2. A highly organized vessel that connects an artery and a vein (bypassing capillaries) in an extremity such as a finger, toe, or ear or in another organ that is not part of the body's core. The glomus regulates the flow of blood, controlling temperature in order to conserve heat in the organ and, indirectly, controls the blood pressure and other functions of the circulatory system.

   The up-regulation of this enzyme in glomus cells of the carotid body in the neck enables the hypoxic animal to achieve a sustained increase in ventilation.

   2001 April 20, Hao Zhu, H. Franklin Bunn, “SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION: How Do Cells Sense Oxygen?”, in Science, volume 292, number 5516, →DOI, pages 449–451