1350–1400; Middle English < Latin, equivalent to oc- oc- + -ciput, combining form of caput head
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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| the colored portion of the eye that contains a circular opening, the pupil, in its center |
| a semilunar valve between the pulmonary artery and the right ventricle of the heart that prevents the blood from flowing back into the right ventricle |
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occiput oc·ci·put (ŏk'sə-pŭt', -pət)
n. pl. oc·ci·puts or oc·cip·i·ta (ŏk-sĭp'ĭ-tə)
The back part of the head or skull.
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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occiput
bone forming the back and back part of the base of the cranium, the part of the skull that encloses the brain. It has a large oval opening, the foramen magnum, through which the medulla oblongata passes, linking the spinal cord and brain. The occipital adjoins five of the other seven bones forming the cranium: at the back of the head, the two parietal bones; at the side, the temporal bones; and in front, the sphenoid bone, which also forms part of the base of the cranium. The occipital is concave internally to hold the back of the brain and is marked externally by nuchal (neck) lines where the neck musculature attaches. The occipital forms both in membrane and in cartilage; these parts fuse in early childhood. The seam, or suture, between the occipital and the sphenoid closes between ages 18 and 25, that with the parietals between ages 26 and 40.
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