Crenation

Crenation (from modern Latin crenatus meaning 'scalloped or notched', from popular Latin crena meaning 'notch') in botany and zoology, describes an object's shape, especially a leaf or shell, as being round-toothed or having a scalloped edge.

The descriptor can apply to objects of different types, including cells, where one mechanism of crenation is the contraction of a cell after exposure to a hypertonic solution, due to the loss of water through osmosis. In a hypertonic environment, the cell has a lower concentration of solutes than the surrounding extracellular fluid, and water diffuses out of the cell by osmosis, causing the cytoplasm to decrease in volume. As a result, the cell shrinks and the cell membrane develops abnormal notchings. Pickling cucumbers and salt-curing of meat are two practical applications of crenation.