sphenoid

American  

[sfee-noid] / ˈsfi nɔɪd /

adjective

1. being in the shape of a wedge; wedge-shaped.

2. Anatomy. of or relating to the compound bone of the base of the skull, at the roof of the pharynx.

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noun

1. Anatomy. the sphenoid bone.

sphenoid British  

/ ˈsfiːnɔɪd /

adjective

1. wedge-shaped

2. of or relating to the sphenoid bone

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noun

1. See sphenoid bone

Other Word Forms

• postsphenoid adjective
• presphenoid adjective
• subsphenoid adjective
• subsphenoidal adjective
• supersphenoid adjective
• supersphenoidal adjective

Etymology

Origin of sphenoid

1725–35; < New Latin sphēnoīdēs < Greek sphēnoeidḗs. See sphen-, -oid

Example Sentences

I watched mine perform a complicated skull-based surgery — the removal of a sphenoid meningioma.

From Salon • Nov. 20, 2022

The pituitary gland, sometimes called the hypophysis or “master gland” is located at the base of the brain in the sella turcica, a groove of the sphenoid bone of the skull, illustrated in Figure 28.15.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

This bony region of the sphenoid bone is named for its resemblance to the horse saddles used by the Ottoman Turks, with a high back and a tall front.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

The lesser wings of the sphenoid bone form the prominent ledge that marks the boundary between the anterior and middle cranial fossae.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

Pterygoid, ter′i-goid, n. one of a pair of bones in the facial apparatus of some vertebrata behind the palatines, known in human anatomy as the pterygoid plates of the sphenoid bone.—adj. aliform or alate.—adj.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) by Various