Foramen

(fo-ramen,) pl. FORAMINA. [L., an orifice.] (Anat.) A small opening. The F. ovale is the aperture between the two auricles of the heart of the fœtus, which before birth allows the blood to pa from one to the other without going through the lungs. It closes when the child is born; for, the blood being no longer purified by pa ing through the lungs of the mother, it is indispensable that it should now pa through the lungs of the infant. Hence, if a child has ever breathed, its lungs will float in water, from their air-cells having been rendered light by inflation.(Bot.) An opening through the integuments of an ovule, by which the fecundating influence of the pollen reaches the nucleus. [s. 374]