cortex
nounUS /ˈkɔɹtɛks/ · UK /ˈkɔːtɛks/
Etymology Borrowed from Latin cortex (“cork, bark”).
1
Anatomy, Medicine, Sciences The outer layer of an internal organ or body structure, such as the kidney or the brain.
- In the study, led by Ryota Kanai of the University College London, people who identified themselves as liberals generally had a larger anterior cingulate cortex — a comma-shaped region near the front of the brain that is involved in decision-making. By contrast, those who identified as conservatives had larger amygdalas — almond-shaped structures that are linked with emotional learning and the processing of fear.2011 April 8, Amie Ninh, “Liberal vs. Conservative: Does the Difference Lie in the Brain?”, in TIME, archived from the original on 18 Jul 2025:
3
Archaeology, History, Human sciences, Sciences The outer surface of a piece of flint.
- Derived terms
- cerebrocortex, cortexless, cortical, cortico-, endocortex, epicortex, exocortex, hemicortex, koniocortex, paracortex, precortex, proopiomelanocortic, retinex, striate cortex, subcortex
- Hyponyms
- adrenal cortex, allocortex, anterior cingulate cortex, archicortex, cerebellar cortex, cerebral cortex, cingulate cortex, cytocortex, entorhinal cortex, insular cortex, isocortex, mesocortex, motor cortex, neocortex, orbitofrontal cortex, paleocortex, paracingulate cortex, prefrontal cortex, renal cortex, somatic sensory cortex, somatosensory cortex, visual cortex