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University of Sydney - Anatomy glossary Category: Sciences > Anatomy glossary Date & country: 25/01/2011, AU Words: 1008

constrictor
Latin con = together, and strictum = drawn tight, hence, producing narrowing.

contour
Greek tornos = lathe, hence a line which turns - an outline.

contralateral
Latin contra = against, latus = side, hence, the opposite side (as opposed to ipsilateral)

conus
Latin = cone, conus medullaris - the lower end of the spinal cord.

coracoid
adjective, Greek korax = a crow, and eidos = shape or form, hence, like a crow's beak.

cornea
Latin cornu = horn, hence, the dense tissue forming the front of the eyeball.

corniculate
Latin = shaped like a small horn.

cornu
Latin = horn.

corona
Latin = crown. adjective - coronary or coronal; hence a coronal plane is parallel to the main arch of a crown which passes from ear to ear (cf. coronal suture).

coronal
Latin corona = crown; hence a coronal plane is parallel to the main arch of a crown which passes from ear to ear (cf. coronal suture).

coronary
adjective, Latin = crown, hence, encircling like a crown.

coronoid
adjective, Greek korone = a crown, eidos = shape or form, hence, shaped like a crown.

corpus
Latin = body, plural - corpora.

corpuscle
Latin = a little body.

corrugator
Latin con = together, and ruga = wrinkle, hence a muscle that produces wrinkles.

cortex
Latin = bark, adjective, cortical.

costa
Latin = rib. adjective - costal.

coxa
Latin = hip, hence os coxae = the hip bone.

cranium
Greek kranion = skull. (In anthropology = skull minus mandible) adjective - cranial.

cremaster
Greek = suspender, hence the muscle which suspends the testis.

cribriform
adjective, Latin cribrum = sieve, hence, sieve-like.

cricoid
adjective, Greek krikos = ring, and eidos = shape or form, hence, ring-like, i.e. circular.

crista
Latin = crest, crista galli = the (median) crest of a cock.

cruciate
adjective, Latin crux = cross, hence, crossed like the letter X.

crus
Latin = leg, plural - crura.

cubital
adjective, Latin cubitus = elbow.

cuboid
adjective, Greek kuboides = cube-shaped.

culmen
Latin = summit (cf. culminate).

cuneate
adjective, Latin = a wedge.

cuneiform
adjective, Latin cuneus = wedge, hence wedge-shaped.

cuneus
Latin = a wedge, adjective - cuneate.

cupola
Latin = little dome.

cupula
Latin = little dome.

cusp
Latin cuspis = a pointed elevation.

cutaneous
adjective, Latin cutis = skin.

cyst
Greek kystis = bladder, adjective - cystic.

dartos
Greek = flayed or skinned.

declive
Latin declivitas = slope (cf. clivus).

decussation
Latin decussatus = crossed like the letter X.

deep
further from the surface.

deferens
adjective, Latin = carrying down.

deglutition
Latin deglutire = to swallow, hence the act of swallowing.

dehiscence
Latin de = away, hiscere = to gape, hence, a separation, a splitting away.

deltoid
adjective, Greek delta (D). The capital has a triangular shape (cf. the delta of the Nile river).

dendrite
or dendron, Greek = a tree, hence like the branches of a tree.

dens
Latin = tooth (cf. dentist), adjective - dental.

dentate
Latin dens = tooth, hence, having a toothed margin.

denticulate
Latin dens = tooth, hence, having small tooth-like projections.

dentine
from Latin dens = tooth; the substance of the tooth surrounding the pulp.

depress
Latin de = prefix implying descent, and pressum = pressed, hence to press down, and depression = downward movement or a concavity on a surface.

dermatome
Greek derma = skin, tome = a cutting or division, hence a segment of skin supplied by a single spinal ganglion.

dermis
Greek = skin, adjective - dermal.

detrusor
Latin detrusio = thrust away.

diaphragm
Greek dia = across, and phragma = wall, hence, a partition, adjective - diaphragmatic (see also phrenic).

diaphysis
Greek dia = apart, and physis = growth, hence, the body of a long bone between the growing regions near the ends.

diastole
Greek dia = apart, and stellein = sending, hence sending the walls of the heart apart, i.e. relaxation or dilatation. Adjective - diastolic.

diencephalon
Greek dia = between, and enkephalos = brain, hence in general the structures surrounding the 3rd ventricle. adjective - diencephalic.

digastric
adjective, Greek dia = double, and gaster = belly, hence, 2-bellied.

digit
Latin digitus = a finger or toe, usually excepting the pollex (thumb) or hallux (big toe), adjective - digital.

diplopia
Greek diploos = double, and opsis = vision, hence double vision.

discus
Latin = disc.

dissection
Latin disssecare = to cut up, from dis = apart, sectum = cut (c.f. anatomy).

distal
adjective, Latin di = apart, and stans = standing, hence, standing apart, implying farther from a given point, usually the root of a limb.

diverticulum
Latin = by-road, hence a blind tubular process or sac.

dorsal
adjective, Latin dorsum = back.

dorsum
Latin = back.

ductus
Latin = duct.

duodenum
Latin duodenarius = twelve, because it is 12 fingerbreadths long.

dura
adjective, Latin = hard (cf. durable); dura mater, the tough covering membrane of the central nervous system.

dysphagia
Greek dys = difficult, and phagein = to eat, hence, difficulty in swallowing.

ectoderm
Greek ektos = outside, and derm = skin, hence, the outermost germ layer of the embryo.

ectopic
Greek ek = out, and topos = place, hence out of place.

edge
border or margin of a surface.

efferent
adjective, Latin ex = out, and ferens = carrying, hence, conducting from.

ejaculatory
Latin ex = out, and jacere = to throw, hence throwing out.

elbow
the junction between arm and forearm.

elevate
Latin elevatus = raised up, hence, to raise up, and elevation = a raised part.

emboliformis
adjective, Greek embolus = wedge or blocking matter.

embryo
Greek en = within, and bryein = to swell or grow, hence the early stage of intrauterine development.

eminence
Latin eminens = projecting, hence, a projection (usually smooth).

emissary
adjective, Latin e = out, and emissum = sent out; emissary vein, one connecting intra- with extra-cranial venous channels.

encephalon
Greek en = within, and kephalos = head, hence, the brain.

endocardium
Greek endo = within, and kardia = heart, hence, the endothelial lining of the chambers of the heart.

endocranium
Greek endo = within, and kranion = skull, hence, the outer endostial layer of the dura mater.

endocrine
Greek endo = within, and krinein = to separate, hence, the organs that ductlessly secrete their products into the bloodstream.

endoderm
Greek endo = within, and derm = skin, hence, the germ layer of the embryo that gives rise to epithelium of the gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts.

endolymph
Greek endo = within, and Latin lympha = clear water, hence the fluid within the membranous labyrinth of the internal ear.

endometrium
Greek endo = within, and metra = uterus, hence the mucosal lining of the uterine cavity.

endothelium
Greek endo = within, and thele = the nipple; the squamous epithelium lining the heart and blood vessels.

ependyma
Greek = an upper garment. It may refer to a vest or singlet, i.e. an under-garment, hence, the lining membrane of the ventricles of the brain and central canal of the spinal cord.

epicanthus
Greek epi = upon, and kanthos = corner, hence, the fold of skin over the inner angle of the upper eyelid, a normal characteristic in certain races, and a congenital anomaly in others.

epicardium
Greek epi = upon, and kardia = heart, hence, the visceral layer of serous pericardium which covers the heart.

epicondyle
Greek epi = upon, and kondylos = knuckle, hence a prominence on a condyle of the humerus or femur.

epicranial
adjective, Greek epi = upon, and kranion = skull, hence, the epicranial aponeurosis (galea) connecting frontalis to occipitalis muscles.

epidermis
Greek epi = upon, and derm = skin, hence, the most external layer of the skin.

epididymis
Greek epi = upon, and didymos = testis, hence, the organ perched posterosuperior to the testis.

epidural
adjective, Greek epi = upon, Latin dura = tough, hence, external to dura mater.

epigastrium
Greek epi = upon, and gaster = belly, hence, the upper median zone of the abdomen.

epiglottis
Greek epi = upon, and glottis = larynx, hence the uppermost part of the larynx.

epimysium
Greek epi = upon, and mys = muscle, hence the connective tissue surrounding an entire muscle.