Raphe (/ˈrfi/ RAY-fee; from Ancient Greek: ῥαφή, romanizedrhaphḗ, lit.'seam';[1] pl.: raphae or raphes) has several different meanings in science.

In botany and planktology, it is commonly used when describing a seam or ridge on diatoms or seeds.

In animal anatomy, it is used to describe a ridged union[2] of continuous biological tissue. There are several different significant anatomical raphes:

Teratology

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In teratology, a malformation or congenital disorder involving a raphe, such as spina bifida, is known as a dysraphism.

References

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  1. ^ Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). A Greek-English Lexicon. revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones. with the assistance of. Roderick McKenzie. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  2. ^ "raphe" at Dorland's Medical Dictionary