Alamella (pl.:lamellae) is a small plate or flake, from the Latin, and may also refer to collections of fine sheets of material held adjacent to one another in agill-shaped structure, often with fluid in between though sometimes simply a set of "welded" plates. The term is used inbiological contexts for thin membranes of plates oftissue. In the context ofmaterials science, the microscopic structures inbone andnacre are called lamellae. Moreover, the term lamella is often used to describe crystal structure of some materials.^[1]

Insurface chemistry (especiallymineralogy andmaterials science),lamellar structures are fine layers, alternating between different materials. They can be produced by chemical effects (as ineutecticsolidification), biological means, or a deliberate process oflamination, such aspattern welding. Lamellae can also describe the layers of atoms in thecrystal lattices of materials such as metals.

Insurface anatomy, a lamella is a thin plate-like structure, often one amongst many lamellae very close to one another, with open space between.

Inchemical engineering, the term is used for devices such asfilters andheat exchangers.

Inmycology, a lamella (or gill) is a paperyhymenophore rib under the cap of somemushroom species, most oftenagarics.

The term has been used to describe the construction oflamellar armour, as well as the layered structures that can be described by alamellar vector field.

In medical professions, especiallyorthopedic surgery, the term is used to refer to3D printed titanium technology which is used to createimplantablemedical devices (in this case,orthopedic implants).^[2]

In context ofwater-treatment, lamellar filters may be referred to asplate filters ortube filters.

This term is used to describe a certain type ofichthyosis, a congenital skin condition. Lamellar Ichthyosis often presents with a "colloidal" membrane at birth. It is characterized by generalized dark scaling.

The termlamella(e) is used in the flooring industry to describe the finished top-layer of an engineered wooden floor. For example, an engineered walnut floor will have several layers of wood and a top walnut lamella.

Inarchaeology, the term is used for a variety of small flat and thin objects, such asAmulet MS 5236, a very thin gold plate with a stamped text fromAncient Greece in the 6th century BC.

Incrystallography, the term was first used byChristopher Chantler and refers to a very thin layer of a perfect crystal, from which curved crystal physics may be derived.^[3]

Intextile industry, a lamella is a thin metallic strip used alone or wound around a core thread forgoldwork embroidery andtapestry weaving.^[4]

In September 2010, the U.S.Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced arecall of twomedications which contained "extremely thinglass flakes (lamellae) that are barely visible in most cases. The lamellae result from the interaction of the formulation withglass vials over theshelf life of the product."^[5]

• Lamella (cell biology)
• Middle lamella
• Annulate lamella
• Lamella (structure)