GLOSSARY 395 



Mastitis. Inflammation of the breast. 



Mastoid. Shaped like a breast. 



Maxilla. The jaw-bone. Applied to the upper jaw-bone. 



Meatus. A passage. 



Medial. Toward the middle line. 



Median. Middle, as the median line of the body. 



Mediastinum. From Latin words meaning to stand in the midst. The space in the 



middle of the thorax. 

 Medulla. Marrow. 



Medullary. Pertaining to, or like, marrow. The medullary canals contain marrow. 

 Meninges. Membranes. Membranes of the brain and spinal cord. 

 Mental. From the Latin word mens, the mind. 

 Mental. From the Latin word mentum, the chin. 

 Mesentery. From two Greek words, meaning middle and bowel. (The mesentery 



connects the bowel with the posterior abdominal wall.) 

 Metastasis. From a Greek word meaning to transpose. 

 Minimus. Least or smallest. Minimi digiti, of the smallest digit. 

 Minor. Lesser. 



Mitral. Resembling a miter in outline. 



Molar. Like a mill-stone or mola. The molar teeth grind the food. 

 Mucous. Containing or resembling mucus. 



Mucus. A thick clear fluid secreted by the cells of mucous membranes. 

 Naris. The nostril. (Plural, nares.) 

 Navicular. Boat-shaped, as the navicular bone. 



Necrosis. The death of a portion of tissue, while still surrounded by living structures. 

 NeuraL Pertaining to nerves. The neural axis is the spinal cord. The neural 



canal is the spinal canal. The neural cavity contains the brain and spinal cord. 

 Neuron. A single nerve cell with its branches. 

 Nucha. The nape of the neck. 



Nucleolus. A smaller nucleus within the nucleus of a cell. 

 Nucleus. A small round body near the center of a cell. The most important part 



of a nucleated cell. 

 Neuron. A unit of the nerve tissues. It consists of cell body or center, axon and 



terminal divisions. 

 Nutrient. Nourishing. 



Nutrition. The process of nourishing the cells of living tissues. 

 Olecranon. The large process at the upper end of the ulna. The head of the elbow. 

 Occipital. Belonging to the back of the head, or the occiput. 

 Odontoid. Resembling a tooth in shape. 



Omentum. A fold of peritoneum connected with the stomach. 

 Omos. The shoulder. Omo-hyoid, belonging to shoulder and hyoid bone, as the 



omo-hyoid muscle. 



Ophthalmic. Belonging to the eye or ophthalmos. 

 Ora serrata. The serrated or toothed margin of the retina. 

 Orbicular. Ring-shaped. A ligament -which resembles a little circle. 

 Organ. A structure designed for a particular function or use. Organic substances 



are formed in, or by, organs. 



Os. A bone. (Plural, ossa.) Ossicle, a little bone. 

 Os. A mouth. (Plural, ora.) 

 Osseous. Bony. 



Ossification. The formation of bone. 

 Osteology. The science which treats of bones. 



Ostium venosum. A venous door. The door or opening from an atrium to a ven- 

 tricle in the heart, for the passage of venous blood. 

 Outlet The inferior opening or strait, of the pelvis. 

 Ovum. An egg. (Plural, ova.) 



Palpebra. An eyelid. Palpebral fissure, the Assure between the eyelids. 

 Pancreas. From words meaning all and flesh. Pancreatic fluid digests all foods. 

 Papilla. A Latin word meaning a nipple. A soft conic eminence. 

 Parietal. Resembling a wall (paries). 



Parotid. Near the ear. The parotid gland is around the external ear. 

 Parturition. The act of bringing forth, or giving birth to, young. 

 Patella. A little pan. The sesamoid bone in front of the knee-joint; the "knee 



pan." 



