A “little fountain or spring” (derived from the Latin). In laymen’s terms, the “soft spots” of a baby’s head are membranous areas between the skull bones that allow changes in shape of the head as it traverses the birth canal. […]
Anatomy word of the month: fontanelle Read More
This term is a combining of two Greek words meaning “to put together with an egg” and describes the construction of certain joints in the body. For example, your knee joint is a membrane lined cavity (synovial membrane, synovial cavity)
Anatomy word of the month: synovial Read More
“Bottom of the bag” in French. In everyday English a cul-de-sac is a blind alley, a dead-end street. In anatomy a cul-de-sac is a blind-ending pouch. The most well known is the rectouterine pouch between the uterus and rectum in
Anatomy word of the month: Cul-de-sac Read More
“Scoops, buckets” in Latin. In ancient times water wheels with a series of buckets along the rim drew up water from shallow wells and poured it into troughs for watering stock or irrigation ditches. As imaginative as ever, anatomists thought
Anatomy word of the month: haustra Read More
The Achilles tendon attaches major calf muscles, the gastrocnemius and soleus, to the calcaneous (heel bone). Achilles was a famous Greek warrior whose mother was one of the immortals, but he was not. His mother sought to protect her son
Anatomy word of the month: Achilles tendon Read More
A deep layer of the scalp is a close fitting, tough connective tissue “helmet” called the galea aponeurotica. In the ancient Roman army, common foot soldiers were issued a close fitting leather helmet called a “galea”.
Anatomy word of the month: Galea aponeurotica Read More
There are two major categories of anatomical terms: those that are simply descriptive as to shape, size, color, function and eponyms, the practice of honoring those who discover or first describe a structure by applying their name to it (e.g.
Anatomy word of the month: Torcular Herophili Read More
The testis is the male generative organ, producing sperm cells and the male sex hormone, testosterone. Testis is a Latin word for “witness”, as in witnessing to one’s manhood. Did you know that the words testify, testimonial and testament share
Anatomy word of the month: testis Read More
The “sea horse” is a structure buried deep within each hemisphere of the brain. This term is more descriptive of the imagination of anatomists rather than its function. In a cross section of the cerebral hemisphere the hippocampus looks something
Anatomy word of the month: hippocampus Read More
Did you know you had a “goose foot” on the inner side of your knees? Those imaginative, ancient anatomists envisioned that the three muscles that come together on the medial surface of the knee looked like the three-toed foot of
Anatomy word of the month: Pes anserinus Read More