Plaques

/plæks/ noun

Definition

Flat tablets or plates attached to walls or monuments with writing or carving, or deposits that build up on teeth and arteries.

Etymology

From French 'plaque' meaning a plate or slab; Latin 'placa'; can refer both to commemorative tablets and biological deposits that accumulate gradually.

Kelly Says

Dental plaque and arterial plaque share a name but opposite fates: brush away tooth plaque regularly, but arterial plaque? It quietly hardens in your arteries for decades before surprising you with a heart attack.

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