Bone Marking TYPES
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Basic concepts for understanding bone “geography”
TERM
PRONUNCIATION
DESCRIPTION/TRANSLATION
Angle
ANG-gul
An inside or outside corner
Body
BOD-ee
The main or central portion of a
bone
Border
BOHR-der
Edge or boundary of a bone
Condyle
KON-dyle
Rounded bump; usually fits into a
fossa on another bone to form a
joint [literally knuckle]
krest
Moderately raised ridge; generally
a site for muscle attachment
[literally tuft or comb]
Epicondyle
ep-i-KON-dyle
Bump near a condyle; often gives
the appearance of a “bump on a
bump”; for muscle attachment
[literally upon a knuckle]
Facet
fah-SET or
FASS-et
Crest
Fissure
FISH-ur
Foramen
(pl., foramina
or foramens)
foh-RAY-men or
FO-ra-men
(foh-RAM-in-ah
or
foh-RAY-menz)
Flat surface that forms a joint with
another facet or flat bone
[literally little face]
Long, cracklike hole for blood
vessels / nerves [literally a split]
Round hole for vessels and nerves
[literally hole]
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EXAMPLES
Angle of mandible
Inferior angle of scapula
Lateral angle of scapula
Superior (medial) angle of scapula
Subpubic angle
Body of sphenoid bone
Body of mandible
Body of vertebra
Body of sternum
Body of rib
Superior border of scapula
Medial (vertebral) border of scapula
Lateral (axillary) border of scapula
Occipital condyle
Lateral condyle of femur
Medial condyle of femur
Lateral condyle of tibia
Medial condyle of tibia
Iliac crest of coxal (pelvic) bone
Pubic crest of coxal (pelvic) bone
Intertrochanteric crest of femur
Crest of tibia
Lateral epicondyle of humerus
Medial epicondyle of humerus
Lateral epicondyle of femur
Medial epicondyle of femur
Superior articular facet of vertebra
Inferior articular facet of vertebra
Superior orbital fissure of sphenoid
Inferior orbital fissure of sphenoid
Stylomastoid foramen of temporal bone
Jugular foramen of temporal
bone
Supraorbital foramen of frontal bone
Foramen rotundum of sphenoid bone
Optic foramen of sphenoid bone
Foramen ovale of sphenoid bone
Foramen lacerum of sphenoid bone
Foramen spinosum of sphenoid bone
Foramen magnum of occipital bone
Infraorbital foramen of maxilla
Mandibular foramen
Mental foramen of mandible
Spinal foramen of vertebra
Obturator foramen of coxal (pelvic) bone
TERM
PRONUNCIATION
DESCRIPTION/TRANSLATION
Fossa
(pl., fossae)
FOSS-ah
(FOSS-ee)
Depression; often receives an
articulating bone [literally ditch]
Head
hed
Distinct epiphysis on a long bone,
separated from the shaft by a
narrowed portion (or neck)
Line
(Latin linea)
lyne
(LEEN-ee-ah or
LIN-ee-ah)
Similar to a crest but not raised as
much (is often rather faint)
Margin
MARJ-in
Edge of a flat bone or flat area
Meatus
(pl., meatus or
meatuses)
mee-AYT-us
(mee-AYT-us-ez)
Tubelike opening or channel
[literally passage]
Neck
nek
A narrowed portion, usually at the
base of a head
Notch
notch
A V-like “cut” out of the margin or
edge of a flat area
Process
PRAH-ses or
PRO-ses
Projection or raised area
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EXAMPLES
Mandibular fossa of temporal bone
Jugular fossa of temporal bone
Subscapular fossa
Olecranon fossa of humerus
Coronoid fossa of humerus
Intercondylar fossa of femur
Head of rib
Head of humerus
Head of radius
Head of ulna
Head of metacarpal bone
Head of femur
Head of fibula
Head of metatarsal bone
Superior nuchal line of occipital bone
Inferior nuchal line of occipital bone
Superior temporal line of parietal bone
Inferior temporal line of parietal bone
Intertrochanteric line of femur
Linea aspera of femur
Supracondylar lines of femur
Intercondylar line of femur
Supraorbital margin of frontal bone
Infraorbital margin of maxilla
External acoustic meatus of temporal
bone acoustic meatus of temporal
Internal
bone
Neck of mandible
Neck of rib
Anatomical neck of humerus
Surgical neck of humerus
Neck of radius
Neck of femur
Supraorbital notch
Trochlear (semilunar) notch of ulna
Radial notch of ulna
Greater sciatic notch of coxal bone
Lesser sciatic notch of coxal bone
Intercondylar notch of femur
Mastoid process of temporal bone
Zygomatic process of temporal bone
Styloid process of temporal bone
Temporal process of zygomatic bone
Alveolar process of maxilla
Palatine process of maxilla
Condylar process of mandible
Coronoid process of mandible
Alveolar process of mandible
Spinous process of vertebra
TERM
PRONUNCIATION
DESCRIPTION/TRANSLATION
Process
(continued)
EXAMPLES
Transverse process of vertebra
Superior articulating process of vertebra
Inferior articulating process of vertebra
Xiphoid process of sternum
Coracoid process of scapula
Styloid process of radius
Coronoid process of ulna
Styloid process of ulna
Ramus of mandible
Superior pubic ramus
Inferior pubic ramus
Frontal sinus
Sphenoid sinus
Ethmoid sinus
Maxillary sinus
Spine of scapula
Spine of vertebra
Anterior superior spine
Anterior inferior spine
Posterior superior spine
Posterior inferior spine
Ischial spine
Ramus
(pl., rami)
RAY-mus
(RAY-mye or
RAY-mee)
Curved portion of a bone, like a
ram’s horn [literally branch]
Sinus
SYE-nus
Cavity within a bone [literally
hollow]
Spine
spyne
Sharp, pointed process; similar to
crested but raised more; for
muscle attachment [literally
thorn]
Sulcus
(pl., sulci)
SUL-kus (SUL-kee
or SUL-kye or
SUL-sye)
Groove or elongated depression
[literally trench]
Intertubercular sulcus
Trochanter
troh-KAN-ter or
TROH-kan-ter
Large bump for muscle attachment
(larger than a tubercle or
tuberosity) [literally runner]
Greater trochanter of femur
TOO-ber-kul
Small tuberosity (see below); small
oblong bump [tubercle is
literally small bump or small
lump]
too-ber-AH-sih-tee
Oblong, raised bump, usually for
muscle attachment; also called a
tuber; a small tuberosity is
called a tubercle [tuber is
literally bump or lump]
Tubercle
Tuberosity
Radial sulcus
Lesser trochanter of femur
Tubercle of rib
Greater tubercle of humerus
Lesser tubercle of humerus
Pubic tubercle
Adductor tubercle of femur
Frontal tuberosity
Deltoid tuberosity of humerus
Radial tuberosity
Ischial tuberosity
Tibial tuberosity
NOTES:
1. Bone marking names are arranged alphabetically, not by location, structure, or function.
2. In Latin, modifiers follow the terms they describe. Thus, foramen magnum can be translated in exact parallel as
“hole that is huge” but is best rendered as “huge hole.”
3. Literal translations of structure names may be helpful in locating them or remembering their shape or function.
However, they are not necessarily accurate or complete descriptions of the structure.
4. Some alternate pronunciations are given here but many other pronunciations are possible.
© Kevin Patton at lionden.com Rev. 20 SEP 13 For reuse, please contact permissions@lionden.com
Some material adapted by permission from Anatomy & Physiology by Patton & Thibodeau (Mosby/Elsevier)
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