Plural of foveola; small pits or depressions, especially the tiny cup-shaped indentations found in certain biological structures like the retina of the eye.
From Latin 'foveolae,' plural of 'foveola,' which is a diminutive of 'fovea' (pit or hollow). The term entered scientific usage in the 17th-18th centuries to describe microscopic anatomical features.
The foveolae in your eye are so incredibly specialized that there's one type that contains almost exclusively cone cells for color vision—this is why the center of your vision is your sharpest and most colorful perception of the world.
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