Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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| a muscular, membranous or ligamentous wall separating the thoracic or chest cavity from the abdominal cavity in mammals |
| one member of the two lowest pairs of ribs, which are attached neither to the sternum nor to the cartilages of other ribs. |
| epiphysis (ɪˈpɪfɪsɪs) | |
| —n , pl -ses | |
| 1. | the end of a long bone, initially separated from the shaft (diaphysis) by a section of cartilage that eventually ossifies so that the two portions fuse together |
| 2. | the technical name for pineal gland Also called: epiphysis cerebri |
| [C17: via New Latin from Greek: a growth upon, from | |
| epiphyseal | |
| —adj | |
| epiphysial | |
| —adj | |
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epiphysis e·piph·y·sis (ĭ-pĭf'ĭ-sĭs)
n. pl. e·piph·y·ses (-sēz')
The end of a long bone that is originally separated from the main bone by a layer of cartilage but that later becomes united to the main bone through ossification.
See pineal body.
ep'i·phys'i·al (ěp'ə-fĭz'ē-əl) or ep'i·phys'e·al (ěp'ə-fĭz'ē-əl, -fə-sē'əl) adj.
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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epiphysis
expanded end of the long bones in animals, which ossifies separately from the bone shaft but becomes fixed to the shaft when full growth is attained. The epiphysis is made of spongy cancellous bone covered by a thin layer of compact bone. It is connected to the bone shaft by the epiphyseal cartilage, or growth plate, which aids in the growth of bone length and is eventually replaced by bone.
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