comb. form (used also in mod.L.) of L. bulbus, BULB, forming principally adjs. used in physiology; sometimes spec. of the bulb of the urethra, as in bulbo-cavernous, -membranous, -rectal, pertaining to the bulb of the urethra and to the ‘cavernous bodies,’ the membrane, the rectum; sometimes as in bulbo-medullary, -urethral, etc., pertaining to the bulb of the spinal marrow, of the urethra, etc.; also bulbo-tuber = CORM.
1836–9. Todd, Cycl. Anat. & Phys., II. 836/1. The perineal artery … gives … a branch to the *bulbo-cavernous.
1881. Nature, XXV. 72/2. An exaltation of the reflex properties of the grey substance of the *bulbo-medullary nerve-centres.
1836. Todd, Cycl. Anat. & Phys., I. 179/2. The *bulbo-rectal hollow, will now become distinct.
1836. Penny Cycl., V. 252/1. Bulbotuber, a short, roundish, underground stem resembling a bulb.
1880. Gray, Bot. Text-Bk., 400. *Bulbo-tuber: Synonym of Corm.
1839–48. Todd, Cycl. Anat. & Phys., III. 928/2. This nerve (the *bulbo-urethral of Cruveilhier).
