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Sternum - Dictionary Definition and Overview |
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Sternum : (noun)
1: the flat bone that articulates with the clavicles and the
first seven pairs of ribs [syn: breastbone]
Based on WordNet 2.0
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Sternum : \Ster"num\, n.; pl. L. Sterna, E. Sternums. [NL.,
from Gr. ?, the breast, chest.]
1. (Anat.) A plate of cartilage, or a series of bony or
cartilaginous plates or segments, in the median line of
the pectoral skeleton of most vertebrates above fishes;
the breastbone.
Note: The sternum is connected with the ribs or the pectorial
girdle, or with both. In man it is a flat bone, broad
anteriorly, narrowed behind, and connected with the
clavicles and the cartilages of the seven anterior
pairs of ribs. In most birds it has a high median keel
for the attachment of the muscles of the wings.
2. (Zo["o]l.) The ventral part of any one of the somites of
an arthropod.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
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Sternum : Sternum: Anatomic name for the breast bone, the long flat bone in the upper middle of the front of the chest.
The sternum articulates (comes together) with the cartilages of the first seven ribs and with the clavicle (collar bone) on either side.
The sternum consists of three parts: the manubrium (the upper segment of the sternum, a flattened, roughly triangular bone), the corpus or body of the sternum, and the xiphoid process (the little
tail of the sternum than points down). These sections of the sternum arise as separate bones and later they may fuse partially or completely with one another.
The word "sternum" comes from the Greek "sternon" meaning "the breast or chest." The word "sternum" was once used to refer to the chest but this use was supplanted by the "thorax" and the sternum
became the name of the familiar flat bone in the middle of the front of the chest.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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