Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The sphenoid bone.
- adjective Wedge-shaped.
- adjective Of or relating to the sphenoid bone.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun By some authors the term is limited to a form having two faces only, which meet in a wedge-shaped edge. The combination of two complementary forms of this type is then called a bisphenoid. A tetragonal scalenohedron, a form having eight similar triangular faces arranged in symmetrical pairs, has been called a disphenoid.
- noun In anthropology, a cranium the norma verticalis of which has a wedge-shaped form, the forehead being narrow and the greatest width being near the occiput.
- Wedge-shaped; wedge-like: specifically, in anatomy, noting certain cranial bones. See II., 2.
- noun In crystallography, a wedge-shaped crystalline form contained under four equal isosceles triangles. It is the hemihedral form of the square pyramid of the tetragonal system.
- noun In anatomy, a large and important compound bone of the skull: so called from its shape and connections in man.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Wedge-shaped.
- adjective (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the sphenoid bone.
- adjective (Anat.) an irregularly shaped bone in front of the occipital in the base of the skull of the higher vertebrates. It is composed of several fetal bones which become united the adult. See
Alisphenoid ,Basisphenoid ,Orbitosphenoid ,Presphenoid . - noun (Crystallog.) A wedge-shaped crystal bounded by four equal isosceles triangles. It is the hemihedral form of a square pyramid.
- noun (Anat.) The sphenoid bone.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective
Wedge -shaped. - noun anatomy The
sphenoid bone . - noun crystallography A wedge-shaped
crystal bounded by four equalisosceles triangles ; thehemihedral form of asquare pyramid .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun butterfly-shaped bone at the base of the skull
Etymologies
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Examples
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The orbital plate and that part of the sphenoid which is found in the temporal fossa, as well as the lateral pterygoid plate, are ossified in membrane (Fawcett) 34.
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The third through the left sphenoid bone, the fourth through the left temporal bone.
Shortcut Man P. G. Sturges 2011
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The third through the left sphenoid bone, the fourth through the left temporal bone.
Shortcut Man P. G. Sturges 2011
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One was a LOMFDGB little old man fall down and go boom with a nasty 4cm nonlinear laceration on his sphenoid.
First Time for Everything 1 Dinosaur 2009
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Since 1998, every MRI I've had for a brain tumor has also shown an abnormal sphenoid sinus fluid level which accounts neatly for my thrice yearly sinus/cold/bronchitis problems.
Are you taking vitamin pills? Ann Althouse 2009
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You know that there is a disease called giantism, caused by ‘a certain morbid process in the sphenoid bone of the skull — viz., an excessive development of the anterior lobe of the pituitary body’ (this is from the nearest encyclopedia).
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Some student in the rhinology department had taken out the turbinates in his nose—and the whole rhinology department, judging from the notes, had taken turns finding and irrigating his sphenoid sinuses—the most difficult sinuses in the human head to reach.
Archive 2005-12-01 Jenny Davidson 2005
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Some student in the rhinology department had taken out the turbinates in his nose—and the whole rhinology department, judging from the notes, had taken turns finding and irrigating his sphenoid sinuses—the most difficult sinuses in the human head to reach.
Sherlock Holmes on acid Jenny Davidson 2005
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The bullet had entered through the left temple, burning and splitting the skin and singeing Grace's hair above the wound, and shattering the sphenoid bone.
The Killing Kind John Connolly 2002
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Through the newly drilled hole in the sphenoid bone, Yarborough introduced the needle tip.
Life Support Tess Gerritsen 1997
hernesheir commented on the word sphenoid
(adj): wedge-shaped, Mod. L. sphenoides < Gk. sphenoeides
(n): in mineralogy, any wedge-shaped crystal form with four triangular faces.
Now go try to draw a solid 3-D representation of one that shows all 4 faces!
January 1, 2009