Definitions
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. In craniometry, the region where the frontal, squamosal, parietal, and sphenoid bones meet or approach one another. The squamosal is usually cut off from the frontal by a short line of sphenoparietal articulation, where the lower anterior corner of the parietal joins the tip of the alisphenoid; but in some cases this line is reduced to nothing, and then the frontal and squamosal come into contact. See cut under
craniometry .
Wiktionary
- n. anatomy The point corresponding with the posterior end of the sphenoparietal suture; known as the weakest part of the skull.
WordNet 3.0
- n. the craniometric point in the region of the sphenoid fontanelle
Etymologies
- From French ptérion, from ptère ("wing of the sphenoid bone"), from Ancient Greek πτερόν (pteron, "wing"). (Wiktionary)
Examples
“Injuries like this usually happen to the thin area in the temple called the "pterion".”
“At the tip of the great wing is a triangular portion, bevelled at the expense of the internal surface, for articulation with the sphenoidal angle of the parietal bone; this region is named the pterion.”
“The point corresponding with the posterior end of the sphenoparietal suture is named the pterion; it is situated about 3 cm. behind, and a little above the level of the zygomatic process of the frontal bone.”
“The squamosal suture arches backward from the pterion and connects the temporal squama with the lower border of the parietal: this suture is continuous behind with the short, nearly horizontal parietomastoid suture, which unites the mastoid process of the temporal with the region of the mastoid angle of the parietal.”
“One, the pterion ossicle, sometimes exists between the sphenoidal angle of the parietal and the great wing of the sphenoid.”
“In order to mark out the lateral cerebral (Sylvian) fissure a point, termed the Sylvian point, which practically corresponds to the pterion, is defined 35 mm. behind and 12 mm. above the level of the frontozygomatic suture; this point marks the spot where the lateral fissure divides.”
“A direct blow to the pterion, or even an indirect blow to another part of the skull, may cause a fracture to this weak area, with an associated rupture of the underlying vessel.”
“Sometimes referred to in neurosurgical circles as "God's little joke", the bony pterion is not just a hazard zone because it is so thin, but also on account of a big artery, the middle meningeal, which runs immediately beneath it.”
“Fridays 8pm - 11pm on WFMU 91.1 fm 90.1 fm whitney music box (Jim Bumgardner) pterion”
“The line of the lower margin behind is that of the transverse sinus (see page 1294), or more roughly a line convex upward from the inion to the posterior root of the zygomatic process of the temporal bone; thence along the posterior two-thirds of the upper border of the zygomatic arch where the line turns up to the pterion; the front part of the lower margin extends from the pterion to the glabella about 1 cm. above the supraorbital margin.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘pterion’.
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Not in the Periodic Table
Words that sound like they might be the names of elements of the periodic table, but that aren't. Many of the words listed here were actually proposed as names for substances their creators thought...
tentorium, columbarium, nasturtium, deuterium, caladium, valerian, concordium, synangium, chorium, geranium, hymenium, pyrenium and 310 more...
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Starts with a silent letter
...with grateful thanks to telofy (for "cnidarian"), and to the song "Crazy ABC's" by Barenaked Ladies.
cnidarian, mnemonic, chthonic, ptarmigan, psoriasis, psittacine, bdellium, aisle, czar, gnarly, gnat, gnaw and 82 more...
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Physical anthropology
acclimatization, adriatic, aegyptid, aeta, aethiopid, africoid, ainuid, aistin, alae, alare, albino, allele and 202 more...
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Ada, or Ardor
I only started dog-earing 2/5 of the way through, so I'll have to re-read at some point in order to complete this list.
fatidic, herbarium, volitation, plafond, pseudopodal, hongry, dolent, dackel, fubsy, hurdies, palpebral, twayblade and 98 more...
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Hedgepiglet
Words for things both tangible and nonanthropic
rorqual, vellus, wrasse, rainbow bee-eater, tinkershire, lemonquat, boomslang, tufted vetch, cubeb, nipplefruit, madapple, wad and 447 more...
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Cranial landmarks
So that I can call "work" the time I spend on Wordie.
alare, alveolon, auriculare, basion, bregma, candylion, dacryon, ectoconchion, ectomolare, euryon, frontomalare temp..., frontotemporale and 27 more...
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cranium!
calvaria, asterion, pterion, stephanion, bregma, lambda, nasion, gonion, dacryon, gnathion, trichion, glabella and 1 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for pterion.
yarb Then, standing before a closet mirror, he put the automatic to his head, at the point of the pterion, and pressed the comfortably concaved trigger.
- Nabokov, Ada, or Ardor Jun 5, 2008