Terms for Bones and Bone Markings
Markings are bone features that serve as:
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Sites of attachment for muscles, ligaments, and
tendons
Joint surfaces
Conduits for blood vessels and nerves
Projections for muscle and ligament attachment:
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Crest – narrow, prominent ridge of bone
Eminence – ridge, projection, or rounded
prominence
Epicondyle – raised area above a condyle
Line – narrow ridge of bone
Process – any bony prominence
Spine – sharp, slender projection
Trochanter – large, blunt, irregular surface
Trochlea – process shaped like a pulley
Tubercle – small rounded projection
Tuberosity – large rounded projection
Long Bones = Longer than they are wide
Flat Bones = Thin, flattened, a bit curved
Projections That Help to Form Joints:
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Condyle – rounded articular projection
Facet – smooth, nearly flat articular surface
Head – bony expansion carried on a narrow neck
Ramus – arm like bar of bone
Depressions and Openings:
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Aditus – entrance to a cavity
Alveolus – deep pit or socket
Fissure – narrow, slit-like opening
Foramen – round or oval opening through a
bone
Fossa – shallow, basin-like depression
Meatus – canal-like passageway
Sinus (or antrum) – cavity within a bone
Sulcus – groove or furrow
Short Bones = Cube shaped bones
Irregular Bones = Have a complicated shape
Axial Skeleton = Bones of the skull, vertebral column
and rib cage
Appendicular Skeleton = Bones of the upper and lower
limbs, shoulder, and hip
Structure of Long Bones