In three-word phrases, the order of words in the same case doesn’t matter.
Latin dictionary entries for adjectives simple provide the nominative singular forms of the adjective.
Noun: corpus, corporis, n. The first word describes where to locate the muscle, while the second word describes a physical characteristic. As such, you might imagine that the word musculus is secretly at the beginning of any muscle name that you see.
Some muscle names also describe their function and how they move in the body.
The foot consists of the tarsus (talus, calcaneus, cuneiformes (laterale, intermedium, and mediale), cuboid, and navicular bones), metatarsus (os metatarsale I-V), and phalanges (14). Latin labels.
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Anatomical structures in item
Pes
Tarsus
Metatarsus
Phalanges
Digiti pedis
Phalanx distalis pedis
Phalanx media pedis
Phalanx proximalis pedis
Calcaneus
Talus
Ossa metacarpalia [I-V]
Phalanges
Phalanx distalis manus
Phalanx media manus
Phalanx proximalis manus
Calcaneus
Talus
Os naviculare
Os cuboideum
Os cuneiforme laterale
Os cuneiforme intermedium
Os cuneiforme mediale
Ossa metatarsalia [I-V]
Hallux
Topics
Gross
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Drawing
Latin anatomical names follow some fairly regular patterns, most of which involve only nominatives and genitives, often in the singular.
However, unlike the previous third declension adjectives they have one inflectional ending for the masc., fem., and neut.
Nouns
The first word in each Latin dictionary entry is the nominative singular form of the noun. vein
corpus, corporis, n. (Hint: You will only use nominative and genitive adjectives and nouns!)
musculus rectus femoris
morbus coxae senilis
ansa cervicalis
orbicularis oculi
adductor magnus
linea alba
flexor digitorum manus
ansae nervorum spinalium
extensor carpi radialis longus
extensor carpi radialis brevis
Reflection Questions
What Latin or Greek terms have you seen in anatomy before?
The introduction to this lesson mentions that Greek is more common in the names of diseases and processes, while Latin is more common for body parts.
Between two metatarsal bones is present a space called the interosseous metatarsal space.
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Phalanges
The phalanges are fourteen long bones found within the toes of the foot.
The tarsal bones of the foot include the following:
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Metatarsal bones
The metatarsal bones are five long bones forming the middle part of the foot.
These bones are located between the tarsal bones and the phalanges.
The human foot typically has five toes. However, this also drops out in practice.
vena, -ae, f. vein
corpus, corporis,n. body
The fourth piece of information in a Latin dictionary entry is the meaning of the Latin word.
vena, -ae, f.
How are they different?
For each of the Latin terms for organs, can you determine what declension they are in? Here are some you may know:
Bone
English translation
humerus
upper arm (bone)
radius
ray (i.e., inner forearm)
ulna
elbow (i.e., outer forearm)
scapula
shoulder (i.e., shoulder blades)
vertebrae
spine (bone)
femur
thigh (bone)
coccyx
tailbone
sternum
chest (bone)
patella
kneecap
tibia
shin (bone)
fibula
calf (bone)
talus
ankle (bone)
Latin names for bones are usually two words.
To say “larger” and “smaller”, we would say major and minor, respectively. In nominative-genitive patterns, the first word usually describes the type of muscle (or other distinguishing feature), and the second word usually describes where you would find the muscle.