Commonly Used Skeletal Terms

Front 1

a sharp bony ridge

Back 1

crest (crista)

Front 2

a rounded projection at the end of a bone that faces another bone

Back 2

condyle

Front 3

a small projection on or above a condyle

Back 3

epicondyle

Front 4

a smooth, flat surface (often present where bones meet)

Back 4

facet

Front 5

a slit or cleft-like passageway

Back 5

fissure

Front 6

an aperture or perforation in a bone (or membrane)

Back 6

foramen

Front 7

a depression below the surface of a bone

Back 7

fossa

Front 8

the enlarged end of a long bone; usually set off from the shaft by a constricted neck

Back 8

head

Front 9

a thin plate or layer of bone (or soft tissue)

Back 9

lamina

Front 10

a low ridge or strip of bone for muscle attachment

Back 10

line (linea)

Front 11

a passageway or channel

Back 11

meatus

Front 12

a bony projection or outgrowth

Back 12

process

Front 13

a branch or stem that is thicker than a process

Back 13

ramus

Front 14

a short, sharp projection of bone

Back 14

spine

Front 15

a long, narrow groove in a bone (or other organ)

Back 15

sulcus

Front 16

a large, strong, blunt process

Back 16

trochanter

Front 17

a smooth convex projection around which the concave surface of another bone rotates

Back 17

trochlea

Front 18

a rough, rounded prominence

Back 18

tubercle

Front 19

a round, rough elevation of bone (larger than a tubercle) for muscle attachment

Back 19

tuberosity

Front 20

the name given for compressed or fractured vertebral bodies-this is potentially dangerous to the spinal cord within the vertebral canal

Back 20

broken back

Front 21

an increase in the curve of the thoracic spine

Back 21

kyphosis

Front 22

an increase in the curve of the lumbar spine

Back 22

lordosis

Front 23

the surgical removal of a lamina in order to expose the contents of the vertebral canal or to repair a herniated intervertebral disc

Back 23

laminectomy

Front 24

...involve the bones of the viscerocranium. They most often result from blunt injuries such as motor vehicle accidents, bar fights, sports trauma, occupational injuries, and falls.

Back 24

maxillofacial fractures

Front 25

an incision through the midline of the sternum allowing surgical access to the organs in the thoracic cavity

Back 25

median sternotomy

Front 26

a disease of bones in which bones mineral density is reduced in bone tissue

Back 26

osteoporosis

Front 27

the removal or part of a rib in order to gain surgical access to the thoracic cavity

Back 27

rib resection

Front 28

an abnormal lateral curvature of the vertebral column

Back 28

scoliosis

Front 29

a defect in the vertebral column marked by an absence of the vertebral arches, through which the spinal cord and/or its protective coverings may protrude

Back 29

spina bifida

Front 30

the grafting of new bone-forming cells (from periosteum) between the bodies of adjacent vertebrae after damaged intervertebral discs have been removed

Back 30

spinal fusion

Front 31

decreasing the angle between body parts

Back 31

flexion

Front 32

increasing the angle between body parts

Back 32

extension

Front 33

moving a structure away from the midline of the body or a body part

Back 33

abduction

Front 34

moving a structure toward the midline of the body or a body part

Back 34

adduction

Front 35

moving a limb so it circumscribes a cone shape in space. it combines flexion, extension, abduction, and adduction.

Back 35

circumduction

Front 36

moving a structure around an axis

Back 36

rotation

Front 37

moving a structure superiorly

Back 37

elevation

Front 38

moving a structure inferiorly

Back 38

depression

Front 39

moving a structure anteriorly

Back 39

protraction

Front 40

moving a structure posteriorly

Back 40

retraction