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