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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.