A Short Glossary of Some General Anatomical Terminology
Acinus: a berry growing in clusters,
hence the smallest unit of a compound
gland; more commonly called an
alveolus.
Aditus: The entrance into a cavity
Afferent: Used to indicate that a
structure leads towards the organ it
supplies
Ala: A wing like projection
Alveolus: A small pail. Hence applied
to a tooth socket, the smallest air
spaces of the lungs; synonymous with
acinus.
Ampulla: A flask, hence the dilated
portion of a tube.
Ansa: a loop
Antrum: a cave, hence a cavity of
hollow filled with a ir and lined with
mucous membrane in the interior of a
bone.
Anulus: a ring
Aponeurosis: A tendinous sheet
covering a muscle or extending from it
to the attachment of the muscle
‐blast: A builder
Brachium: An arm
Bursua: A collapsed sac of fluid found
especially where a tendon or skin
slides over bone
Canaliculus: A small canal, also used
to indicate a tunnel
Commisure: A joining together, used
in the nervous system to indicate
bundles of nerve fibers crossing the
midline from side to side
Condyle: A knuckle, a smooth
rounded eminence covered with
articular cartilage
Corona: A crown
Cortex: a rind or outer covering
Crista: a sharp upstanding ridge
Crus: a leg
Cystic: Appertaining to a bladder
Dens: A tooth
Efferent: the reverse of afferent
Epicondyle: The prominence or
projection situated above a smooth
articular eminence
Facies: A surface
Falciform: Sickle‐shaped. Falx: a
sickle
Fascia: A bandage or swaddling‐
cloth, hence a membrane of fibrous
tissue which sheathes the tissues
Filum: A thread
Folliculus: A small bag
Foramen: A hole
Fornix: An arch
Fossa: A shallow depression
Fovea: A pit, also used in place of a
facet
Frenulum: A small bridle or ligament
Fundus: The base of a hollow organ,
usually opposite its outlet
Ganglion: A swelling, usually small
and round (In the nervous system, any
peripheral collection of nerve cells)
Genu: A knee, hence a bend on a
structure
Glomus: A ball of tight meshwork of
vessels. Diminutive: glomerulus
Hamulus: A hook
Hiatus: A slit or gap
Hilus: A depression where blood
vessels and nerves enter and organ
Incisura: A notch
Infundibulum: A funnel
Isthmus: A narrow strip of tissue
joining two larger pieces, hence a
narrowing of canal
Labium or lip: The raised margin of
an orifice
Labrum: A brim
Labyrinth: A maze of communicates
spaces or canals
Lacuna: a pit or hole
Lamina or Lamella: A thin plate or
sheet
Ligament: A band or tie joining two
structures
A Short Glossary of Some General Anatomical Terminology
Limbus: A boarder or margin
Lingula: A tongue‐like projection
Macula: A spot or stain
Meatus: A passage, a short canal
Medulla: Bone marrow or the pith of
plants, hence the central portion of
any organ where its structure is
different from the outer layer or
cortex
Mesentery: The fold of tissue, which
supports the bowel in the belly
Nodus or node: A knot or swelling or
protruberance
Nucleus: The kernel of a nut. In the
Central Nervous System it refers to a
collection of nerve cells
Ostium: An entrance, hence the
opening into t tube or space
Papilla: The nipple or any nipple
shaped elevation
Parenchyma: The proper tissue of an
organ as distinct from accessory
structures such as its fibrous capsule
Paries: A wall, the walls of the
abdomen, the parietal bone
Pedicle: Diminutive of pes, a foot.
Pediculus. The stalk of a fruit
Pelvis: A basin
Plexus: a plaited or braided structure
of vessels or nerves
Plica: A fold
Porus: A pore or opening
Radix: A root or origin
Ramus: A branch
Raphe: A seam, the line of union of
two soft tissues
Rete: a net, often a labyrinth of
communicating channels
Retinaculum: A stay or tie, usually a
band of connective tissue (ligament)
that holds a tendon in place
Scaphoid: Scapha, a boat. Any
hollowed out structure
Septum: A hedge, fence or dividing
wall
Sinus: A hollow or creek are two of
its many meanings. In anatomy it is
applied to the air‐filled cavities of the
cranial bones, to large venous spaces
within the skull and elsewhere, and to
dilations of blood vessels.
Spina or Spine: A star shaped
projection
Somatic: Belonging to the body wall
Splanchnic: Belonging to the gut tube
Squama: A fish scale or armor plate.
Squamous, scaly
Stria: A stripe or line
Styloid: Any structure resembling a
stylus or stake
Sulcus: A rut or furrow
Synovia: The fluid in joint cavities,
bursae and tendon sheaths
Taenia: A band or ribbon
Tegmen: A cover
Tela: A web, hence any mesh, usually
a fibrous tissue
Torus: A heap or protuberance
Trabecula: A small beam
Trochelea: A pulley or pulley‐shaped
surface
Tuber: A bump or swelling. Also
Tubercule or Tuberosity, these terms
are used, without much distinction, for
any kind of rounded welling or
eminence.
Vagina: A sheath
Velum: A covering or curtain
Vesica: A bladder, especially the
urinary bladder
Villus: Shaggy hair
Visceral: Belonging to the gut tube
Zona: A girdle or belt, a circular or
ring‐like structure