Basic Terminology

Question 1

Define: abduct

Answer 1

to draw away from the median line or axis

Question 2

Define: adduct

Answer 2

to draw toward the median line or axis

Question 3

Define: afferent

Answer 3

nerve fiber or blood vessel that ‘carries toward’ a structure or organ

Question 4

Define: alveolus

Answer 4

pit, sac or socket; hollow

Question 5

Define: anterior

Answer 5

towards the front or ventral part of the body; abdominal side

Question 6

Define: articulate

Answer 6

to join as in a joint; to bind or make tight

Question 7

Define: bifurcate

Answer 7

to branch, a fork

Question 8

Define: canal

Answer 8

tubular channel comprised of the same tissue through which it travels

Question 9

Define: condyle

Answer 9

bony knob or rounded eminence that articulates with another bone

Question 10

Define: crista

Answer 10

a narrow projecting ridge of a bone; a crest

Question 11

Define: distal

Answer 11

farthest portion away from the main body; far from point of attachment

Question 12

Define: efferent

Answer 12

nerve fiber or blood vessel that ‘carries away from’ a structure or organ

Question 13

Define: external

Answer 13

superficial, on the outside

Question 14

Define: fissure

Answer 14

narrow opening or slit

Question 15

Define: foramen

Answer 15

opening or hole in a bone or membrane

Question 16

Define: fossa

Answer 16

shallow longitudinal depression in a surface

Question 17

Define: fovea (bone)

Answer 17

small depression (often articulating with another bone); a pit

Question 18

Define: frontal

Answer 18

coronal plane; divides organs into anterior and posterior halves

Question 19

Define: head (bone)

Answer 19

the rounded portion of the proximal end of a bone that articulates with another bone

Question 20

Define: inferior

Answer 20

situated below; closer to the feet

Question 21

Define: internal

Answer 21

below the surface; inside or deep

Question 22

Define: lateral

Answer 22

lying to the outside of the median axis; on the side

Question 23

Define: meatus

Answer 23

canal or passageway through a bone or other organ

Question 24

Define: medial

Answer 24

towards the median axis

Question 25

Define: parietal

Answer 25

referring to the perimeter of the body or of a cavity; a wall

Question 26

Define: posterior

Answer 26

towards the back or dorsal part of the body

Question 27

Define: process (bone)

Answer 27

the prominence of a bone that projects from the main mass

Question 28

Define: prone

Answer 28

lying with face and palms downwards

Question 29

Define: proximal

Answer 29

closest portion towards the main body; near point of attachment

Question 30

Define: sagittal

Answer 30

the plane that divides organs into right and left halves

Question 31

Define: sinus

Answer 31

hollow cavity; passage or recess in a bone or vessel

Question 32

Define: spine (bony landmark)

Answer 32

bony process that is sharp and narrow

Question 33

Define: superior

Answer 33

situated towards the top; i.e. towards the head

Question 34

Define: supine

Answer 34

lying with face and palms upwards

Question 35

Define: transverse

Answer 35

horizontal plane or cross section

Question 36

Define: trochanter

Answer 36

one of two bony processes on the femur (muscle attachment sites)

Question 37

Define: tubercle (bone)

Answer 37

small knobby prominence on bone

Question 38

Define: tuberosity

Answer 38

roughened, large prominence on a bone (muscle attachment site)

Question 39

Define: viscera

Answer 39

referring to internal organs

Question 40

Define: vascular

Answer 40

having a blood supply; vessels

Question 41

Define: eversion (of the foot)

Answer 41

turning the foot outwards (lateral rotation)

Question 42

Define: inversion (of the foot)

Answer 42

turning the foot inwards (medial rotation)

Question 43

What is another name for the anatomical 'superior?'

Answer 43

Cranial

Question 44

What is another name for the anatomical 'inferior?'

Answer 44

Caudal

Question 45

What is another name for the anatomical 'anterior?'

Answer 45

Ventral

Question 46

What is another name for the anatomical 'posterior?'

Answer 46

Dorsal

Question 47

Define 'crural.'

Answer 47

Describes the shin area

Question 48

Define 'sural.'

Answer 48

Describes the calf area