Arnold's Glossary of Anatomy

by Dr. M. A. (Toby) Arnold

Modifications & Additions by Deborah Bryce
This anatomical word search engine is dedicated to the memory of Maurice (Toby) Arnold

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V X Z

pachymeninx: Greek pachys = thick, and meninx = membrane; hence, the thick membrane covering the central nervous system, i.e., dura mater.
palaeo: Greek palaios = old; hence, palaeocerebellum, the earliest stage in the evolution of the cerebellum.
palate: Latin palatum = palate, adjective - palatal or palatine.
paleo: Greek palaios = old; hence, paleocerebellum, the earliest stage in the evolution of the cerebellum.
pallidus: adjective, Latin = pale.
pallium: Latin = cloak; hence, the cerebral cortex forming the outer covering of the cerebral hemisphere.
palma: Latin palma = palm; adjective, palmar - Latin palmaris.
palpate: Latin palpare = to touch, and palpatus = touched; hence, to examine by feeling, and palpation, such an examination.
palpebra: Latin = eyelid, probably from palpitare = to flutter.
pampiniform: adjective, Latin pampinus = tendril, and forma = shape.
pancreas: Greek = sweetbread, derived from Greek pan = all, and kreas = flesh; adjective - pancreatic.
panniculus: diminutive of Latin pannus = cloth.
papilla: Latin = nipple or teat; adjective - papillary.
paradidymis: Greek para = beside of near, and didymis = twinned or paired, refers to testes; hence the collection of convoluted tubules in the spermatic cord, above the head of the epididymis.
paraesthesia: Greek para = beside, and aisthesia = sensation; hence, abnormal sensation, usually burning or pricking.
paralysis: Greek para = beside, near, lyein = to loosen; hence loss or impairment of muscle function.
parametrium: Greek para = beside, and metra = womb; hence, connective tissue alongside the body of the uterus, within the broad ligament.
paraplegia: Greek para = beside, and plege = a stroke; hence, paralysis of the lower limbs.
pararenal: adjective, Greek para = beside, Latin ren = kidney; hence, beside the kidney, e.g., pararenal fat, the fatty capsule of the kidney.
parasternal: adjective, Greek para = beside, and sternon = chest; hence, the parasternal line is a vertical line about midway between the sternal edge and the midclavicular line.
parasympathetic: adjective, Greek para = beside, syn = with, and pathos = feeling; hence, the division of the autonomic nervous system complementary to the sympathetic system.
parathyroid: adjective, Greek para = beside, and thyroid; hence, beside the thyroid gland.
parenchyma: Greek para = beside or near, en = in, and chein = to pour; hence a general term to designate the functional elements of an organ, as opposed to the framework or stroma.
paresis: Greek = relaxation, but has come to mean partial paralysis.
parietal: adjective, Latin parietalis, pertaining to paries = wall.
parotid: adjective, Greek para = beside, and otos = of the ear; hence, beside the ear.
parous: adjective, Latin pario = I bear (children); hence, adjective, applied to woman who has borne one or more children (cf. nulliparous, multiparous).
pars: Latin = part.
patella: Latin a small pan; adjective - patellar.
pecten: Latin = comb.
pectinate: adjective, from Latin pecten = a comb; applied to structures having the appearance of parallel teeth arising from a straight back (musculi pectinati), or the sellar appearance of the superior pubic ramus, which may have resembled the body of antique combs.
pectineal: adjective, from Latin pecten = a comb; applied to structures having the appearance of parallel teeth arising from a straight back (musculi pectinati), or the sellar appearance of the superior pubic ramus, which may have resembled the body of antique combs.
pectineus: Latin, pecten = a comb; hence the muscle attaching to the pecten (pectineal line) of the pubic bone.
pectoral: adjective, Latin pectoris = of the front of the chest.
pectoralis: adjective, Latin pectoris = of the front of the chest.
pedicle: diminutive of Latin pedis = of the foot.
pedis: Latin = of the foot.
peduncle: variation of pedicle.
pellucidum: adjective, Latin per = through, and lucere - to shine; hence, translucent.
pelvis: Latin = basin, adjective - pelvic.
penis: Latin = tail, the male organ of copulation (cf. appendix, appendage).
pennate: Latin penna = feather; hence, a muscle whose fibres approach the tendon from one direction is unipennate; from two, bipennate, and from more than two, multipennate.
pennatus: (pinnate) - adjective, Latin penna = feather; hence, a muscle whose fibres approach the tendon from one direction is unipennate; from two, bipennate, and from more than two, multipennate.
perianal: adjective, Greek peri = around, and Latin anus = lower opening of alimentary canal.
pericardium: Greek peri = around, and kardia = heart; hence, the membranes enclosing the heart.
perichondrium: Greek peri = around, and chondros = cartilage; hence, the membrane covering cartilage.
pericranium: Greek peri = around, and kranion = skull; hence, the external periosteum of the skull.
perilymph: Greek peri = around, and lympha - Latin = clear water; hence, the fluid in the bony labyrinth surrounding the membranous labyrinth (and continuous with the cerebrospinal fluid).
perineum: Greek the caudal aspect of the trunk between the thighs, or, the region of the trunk below the pelvic diaphragm; adjective - perineal.
periodontal: adjective, Greek peri = around, and odont = tooth.
periosteum: Greek peri = around, and osteon = bone; hence, the membrane around a bone.
peripheral: adjective, Greek peri = around and phero = carry; hence, away from the centre (cf. periphery).
peristalsis: Greek peri = around, and stellein - to constrict; hence, a circular constriction passing as a wave along a tube; adjective - peristaltic.
peritoneum: Greek periteino = to stretch around; hence, the membrane stretched around the internal surface of the walls and the external aspect of some of the contents of the abdomen; adjective - peritoneal.
peroneal: adjective, Greek perone = clasp, brooch - see fibula.
pes: Latin = foot.
petrosal: adjective, Latin petrosus = rocky.
petrous: adjective, Latin petrosus = rocky.
phalanx: Latin = row of soldiers; hence, one of the small bones of a digit, plural - phalanges, adjective - phalangeal.
phallus: Greek phallos = penis.
pharynx: Greek = throat; adjective - pharyngeal.
philtrum: Greek philtron - the median sulcus of the upper lip. Derivation doubtful.
phonation: Greek phone = sound or voice; hence, the production of either.
phrenic: Greek phren = diaphragm or mind; hence, diaphragmatic (cf. schizophrenic).
pia: Latin = faithful, hence, the membrane which faithfully follows the contour of the brain and spinal cord.
pilomotor: Latin pilus = a hair, and movere = to move; hence the action of the arrectores pilorum muscles.
pilus: Latin = a hair.
pineal: adjective, Latin pinea = a pine cone; hence, the pineal gland which is cone-shaped.
piriform: adjective, Latin pirum = a pear; hence, pear-shaped.
pisiform: adjective, Latin pisum = a pea; hence, pea-shaped.
pituitary: Latin pituita = mucous or phlegm, the gland was thought to produce mucous that discharged through the nose.
placenta: Latin = a flat, round cake.
placode: Greek plax = plate or flat, and eidos = shape or form.
plane: Latin planus = flat; hence, a real or imaginary flat surface.
planta: Latin the sole of the foot; adjective - plantar or plantaris.
plantar: adjective, Latin planta = the sole of the foot.
platysma: Greek = flat object; hence, the flat subcutaneous muscle extending from below the clavicle to the mouth.
pleura: Greek = a rib. Later used to name the serous membrane lining the chest walls and the lung on each side.
plexus: Latin = a network or plait.
plica: Latin plicare = to fold; hence, a fold.
pneumon: Greek pneuma = air.
pollex: Latin = thumb.
pollicis: genitive (possessive case) of Latin pollex = thumb; hence of the thumb.
pons: Latin = bridge; adjective - pontine; part of the brain stem.
popliteus: Latin poples = the ham or thigh, and sometimes, the knee; adjective, popliteal, referring to the fossa behind the knee or its contents.
porta: Latin = a gate, also Latin portare = to carry; hence, the portal system carries venous blood from the alimentary tract to the porta hepatis; adjective - portal.
porus: Latin a pore or foramen; hence, the openings of the acoustic meatuses.
posterior: adjective, Latin post = behind (in place or time).
posture: Latin positus = placed; hence, the position of the body as a whole at a given moment, e.g. erect, recumbent, prone, supine, sitting, kneeling.
precuneus: Latin pre = before, and cuneus = wedge; hence, the parietal lobule anterior to the cuneus.
prepuce: Latin praeputium = foreskin (of penis or clitoris).
princeps: Latin primus = chief, and capere = to take; hence chief or principal.
procerus: Latin = slender, elongated; hence, the vertical slip of muscle between the medial part of frontalis and the root of the nose.
process: Latin = going forwards, used to indicate growing out, i.e., an outgrowth, usually of bone, e.g., the zygomatic process of the temporal.
processus: Latin going forwards, used to indicate growing out, i.e., an outgrowth, usually of bone, e.g., the zygomatic process of the temporal.
profundus: Latin pro = before, and fundus = bottom; hence profundus = deep.
prominens: Latin = projecting.
promontory: Latin promontorium = a headland, i.e., part of land jutting into the sea - used for a bony prominence.
pronate: Latin pronatus = bent forwards; hence to pronate = to turn the hand so that the palm faces posteriorly.
prone: Latin pronatus = bent forwards; hence, recumbent face-down posture.
proprioceptive: Latin proprius = one's own, and captum = taken; hence, sensory impulses received by the joints and muscles within one's own body.
prosection: Latin pro = before, and sectum = cut. A dissection prepared for demonstration of anatomic structures.
prosector: Latin pro = before, and sectum = cut. One who prepares a dissection for demonstration.
prosencephalon: Latin pro = in front, and Greek enkephalos = brain; hence, the part of the brain rostral to the midbrain.
prostate: Greek pro = before, and Latin = statum = stood; hence, something which stands before - the prostate stands before the urinary bladder.
protract: Latin protractus = drawn out; hence, to put forwards (e.g., shoulder or mandible). Protraction - the act of protracting.
protrude: Latin protrudo = thrust forwards, e.g. the tongue; protrusion - the act of protruding.
protuberance: Latin protubero = I bulge out; hence, a bulging bony feature (see tuber).
proximal: adjective, Latin proxime = nearest; hence, nearer to the root of a limb.
psoas: Greek = loin.
pterion: Greek pteron = wing; hence, the region where the tip of the greater wing of the sphenoid meets or is close to the parietal, separating the frontal from the squamous temporal; alternatively the region where these 4 bones meet.
pterygoid: adjective, Greek pteryx = wing, and eidos = shape; hence, wing-shaped.
ptosis: Greek = fall; hence, drooping of an eyelid, or descent of an internal organ.
puberty: Latin puber = adult; hence, the time when hair appears in the pubic region - i.e., near the pubis - as a secondary sexual characteristic.
pubes: Latin = adult or signs of manhood, hence the lower abdominal secondary sexual hair.
pubis: Latin pubes (see pubes)
pudendal: adjective, Latin pudendus = shameful; hence, pertaining to the external genitalia.
pulmonary: adjective, Latin pulmo = lung.
pulp: Latin pulpa = a soft part of the body or tooth.
pulposus: Latin pulpa = a soft part of the body or tooth, hence pulpy or soft.
pulvinar: Latin pulvinus = rounded cushion; the posterior end of the thalamus.
punctum: Latin = a sharp point; hence a very small point or orifice.
pupil: Latin pupilla = the central black orifice in the iris; adjective - pupillary.
putamen: Latin = peel, husk or shell of fruit or seed (the external part of the lentiform nucleus).
pyelogram: Greek pyelos = basin, and gramma = diagram; hence, radiograph of the renal pelvis (and usually of the ureter) after filling with contrast medium.
pylorus: Greek = gate-keeper; hence, the part of the pyloric canal containing the sphincter, which guards the opening into the duodenum; adjective - pyloric.
pyramid: Greek pyramis = a pyramid (solid with 3- or more-sided base, and flat sides meeting at the apex), adjective - pyramidal.