Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In the trilobites, relating to the axial segment and groove at the base of the cephalon.
  • noun One of two or more plates forming part of the covering of the dorsal portion of the neck in reptiles. The term is usually applied to the well-marked bony plates of crocodiles but also, as in lizards, to horny plates or shields.
  • Of or pertaining to the nucha or nape: as, the nuchal muscles.
  • In entomology:
  • Situated superiorly, just behind the head: said especially of ornaments, processes, etc., on an insect-larva.
  • Of or pertaining to the metanotal nucha.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective (Anat.) Of, pertaining to, or in the region of, the back, or nape, of the neck; -- applied especially to the anterior median plate in the carapace of turtles.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The back of the neck
  • adjective Of or pertaining to the back or nape of the neck.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Medieval Latin, from Arabic نخاع (nuḫāʕ, "spinal cord").

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Examples

  • "Citation: 'Dietary sequestration of defensive steroids in nuchal glands of the Asian snake Rhabdophis tigrinus' by Deborah A. Hutchinson, Akira Mori, Alan H. Savitzky, Gordon M. Burghardt, Xiaogang Wu, Jerrold Meinwald, and Frank C. Schroeder."

    Archive 2007-01-01 2007

  • An ultrasound done between 10-13 weeks called the nuchal scan, combined with a blood test, is the earliest.

    David Horowitz Freedom Center NewsReal Blog 2010

  • With the ultrasound they'll look at the amount of fluid in the baby's spinal column called the nuchal fold.

    Yahoo! Answers: Latest Questions 2009

  • He went on to explain that adept runners like horses, dogs, and rabbits keep their noggins remarkably steady as they lope, thanks to an obscure bit of anatomy called the nuchal ligament.

    doggdot.us 2008

  • He went on to explain that adept runners like horses, dogs, and rabbits keep their noggins remarkably steady as they lope, thanks to an obscure bit of anatomy called the nuchal ligament.

    doggdot.us 2008

  • Increased amniotic fluid alpha-fetoprotein in patients with fetal nuchal edema.

    Prenatal Diagnosis 2010

  • Abnormal nuchal findings on screening ultrasound: Aneuploidy stratification based on ultrasound anomaly and gestational age at detection.

    Prenatal Diagnosis 2010

  • First-trimester trisomy screening: nuchal translucency measurement training and quality assurance to correct and unify technique.

    Prenatal Diagnosis 2010

  • Women with a possible miscarriage should never have to wait in an ante-natal environment and, once a miscarriage has been confirmed, there must be communication between professionals to prevent the upset caused by being chased for further appointments or nuchal scans.

    Campaign launched to improve NHS care for women after miscarriage 2011

  • I knew, to the nearest fraction of a millimetre, the length of the nuchal fold that would indicate Down's syndrome.

    Charlie Condou: The three of us 2011

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