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foramen

American  
[fuh-rey-muhn] / fəˈreɪ mən /

noun

plural

foramina

  1. an opening, orifice, or short passage, as in a bone or in the integument of the ovule of a plant.

foramen British  
/ fɒˈreɪmɛn, fɒˈræmɪnəl /

noun

  1. a natural hole, esp one in a bone through which nerves and blood vessels pass

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
foramen Scientific  
/ fə-rā′mən /

plural

foramina

  1. An opening or short passage, especially in the body.

  2. ◆ The large opening in the base of the skull through which the spinal cord passes is called the foramen magnum (măg|||PRIMARY_STRESS|||nəm).

  3. ◆ The opening in the septum between the right and left atria of the heart, present in the fetus but usually closed soon after birth, is the foramen ovale (ō-văl|||PRIMARY_STRESS|||ē, -vā|||PRIMARY_STRESS|||lē, -vä|||PRIMARY_STRESS|||-).

Other Word Forms

  • foraminal adjective

Etymology

Origin of foramen

1665–75; < Latin forāmen hole, opening, equivalent to forā ( re ) to bore 2 “pierce” + -men resultative noun suffix

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A patent foramen ovale - or PFO - which is a small hole between the top two chambers of the heart.

From BBC • Jan. 1, 2025

It had a prominent pineal foramen -- a hole in the top of its head that many lizard species use to sense sunlight and judge the length of daylight hours.

From Science Daily • Nov. 29, 2023

The shape of the opening at the base of its skull—the foramen magnum—suggested Sahelanthropus balanced its head on top of a vertical neck, similar to upright walkers such as today’s humans.

From Science Magazine • Aug. 24, 2022

The foramen ovale allowed blood in the fetal heart to pass directly from the right atrium to the left atrium, allowing some blood to bypass the pulmonary circuit.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

Near the common suture of the dentary and the splenial is the large inferior alveolar foramen; completely within the splenial and ventral to the inferior alveolar foramen is the anterior mylohyoid foramen.

From A Revision of Snakes of the Genus Conophis (Family Colubridae, from Middle America) by Wellman, John

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.