sphenoid

The sphenoid bone.

Wedge-shaped.

Of or relating to the sphenoid bone.

By some authors the term is limited to a form having two faces only, which meet in a wedge-shaped edge. The combination of two complementary forms of this type is then called a bisphenoid. A tetragonal scalenohedron, a form having eight similar triangular faces arranged in symmetrical pairs, has been called a disphenoid.

In anthropology, a cranium the norma verticalis of which has a wedge-shaped form, the forehead being narrow and the greatest width being near the occiput.

Wedge-shaped; wedge-like: specifically, in anatomy, noting certain cranial bones. See II., 2.

In crystallography, a wedge-shaped crystalline form contained under four equal isosceles triangles. It is the hemihedral form of the square pyramid of the tetragonal system.

In anatomy, a large and important compound bone of the skull: so called from its shape and connections in man.

Wedge-shaped.

Of or pertaining to the sphenoid bone.