foramen
UK /fəˈɹeɪ.mɛn/ · US /fəˈɹeɪ.mən/ noun
Forms foramina foramens
- noun (anatomy) An opening, an orifice, or a short passage, especially in a bone. “The skull contains a number of foramina through which arteries, veins, nerves, and other structures enter and exit.”
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin forāmen (“aperture or opening produced by boring”), from forō (“to pierce or bore”) + -men (nominal suffix).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A small opening, perforation, or orifice; a fenestra. Foramen of Monro (Anat.), the opening from each lateral into the third ventricle of the brain.
Etymology [L., fr. forare to bore, pierce.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “foramen”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details