sulcation

Noun

sulcation (countable and uncountable, plural sulcations)

1. A channel or furrow.
2. Markings resembling channels or furrows, especially in shells, fossils, etc.
   • The ornamentation of the shell is a character of considerable palaeontological importance. . . . The types of ornamentation are two; longitudinal striation, and transverse sulcation conformable to the shape of the aperture.1865, Thomas Oldham (ed.), Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India, Volume 1, page 8 (Google preview)
   • [T]he presence of sulcation in the brow horns of all the Arrhinoceratops specimens known at the present time suggests a certain constancy in this genus.1946, Charles W. Gilmore, "Reptilian Fauna of the North Horn Formation of Central Utah", Professional Paper 210-C, U.S. Dept. of the Interior, p. 45 (Google preview)
3. The development of or resulting formations of sulci in a brain cortex.
   • Lissencephaly refers to a diffusely smooth-surfaced cerebral hemisphere without sulcation.2004, Devin K. Binder, Helen E. Scharfman, Recent Advances in Epilepsy Research, page 146
   • Since the appearance and development of sulci in the fetal brain follows a predictable pattern, the degree of sulcation may be used as an indicator of gestational age-related cortical development, both at autopsy and in vivo with fetal MRI.2011, Denise Pugash et al., “Fetal MRI of Normal Brain Development”, in Fetal MRI, →ISBN, page 155