| fossa | Origin: L, a ditch. See Fosse. <anatomy, ornithology> A pit, groove, cavity, or depression, of greater or less depth; as, the temporal fossa on the side of the skull; the nasal fossae containing the nostrils in most birds. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| fossa acetabuli | A depressed area in the floor of the acetabulum superior to the acetabular notch. Synonym: fossa acetabuli. (05 Mar 2000) |
| fossa anthelicis | The depression on the medial surface of the auricle that corresponds to the anthelix. Synonym: fossa anthelicis, periconchal sulcus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| fossa axillaris | <anatomy> The underarm area. (16 Dec 1997) |
| fossa canina | A depression on the anterior surface of the maxilla below the infraorbital foramen and on the lateral side of the canine eminence. Synonym: fossa canina. (05 Mar 2000) |
| fossa carotica | A space bounded by the superior belly of the omohyoid muscle, anterior border of the sternocleidomastoid, and posterior belly of the digastric; it contains the bifurcation of the common carotid artery. Synonym: trigonum caroticum, fossa carotica, Gerdy's hyoid fossa, Malgaigne's fossa, Malgaigne's triangle, superior carotid triangle. (05 Mar 2000) |
| fossa condylaris | A depression behind the condyle of the occipital bone in which the posterior margin of the superior facet of the atlas lies in extension. Synonym: fossa condylaris. (05 Mar 2000) |
| fossa coronoidea humeri | A hollow on the anterior surface of the distal end of the humerus, just above the trochlea, in which the coronoid process of the ulna rests when the elbow is flexed. Synonym: fossa coronoidea humeri. (05 Mar 2000) |
| fossa cranii anterior | The portion of the internal base of the skull, anterior to the sphenoidal ridges and limbus, in which the frontal lobes of the brain rest. Synonym: fossa cranii anterior, anterior cranial base. (05 Mar 2000) |
| fossa cranii media | A butterfly-shaped portion of the internal base of the skull posterior to the sphenoidal ridges and limbus and anterior to the crests of the petrous part of the temporal bones and dorsum sellae; it lodges the temporal lobes of the brain in the lateral portions, and the hypophysis centrally. Synonym: fossa cranii media. (05 Mar 2000) |
| fossa cranii posterior | The internal base of the skull posterior to the crest of the petrous part of the temporal bones and the dorsum sellae and anterior to the grooves for the transverse sinuses, where the cerebellum, pons, and medulla oblongata rest. Synonym: fossa cranii posterior. (05 Mar 2000) |
| fossa cubitalis | The fossa in front of the elbow, bounded laterally and medially by the humeral origins of the extensors and flexors of the forearm, respectively, and superiorly by an imaginary line connecting the humeral condyles. Synonym: fossa cubitalis, antecubital space, chelidon, triangle of elbow. (05 Mar 2000) |
| fossa digastrica | A hollow on the posterior surface of the base of the mandible, on either side of the median plane, giving attachment to the anterior belly of the digastric muscle. Synonym: fossa digastrica. (05 Mar 2000) |
| fossa ductus venosi | A wide groove located posteriorly on the undersurface of the foetal liver between the caudate and left lobes; it lodges the ductus venosus and becomes the fissure of the ligamentum venosum in the adult. Synonym: fossa ductus venosi. (05 Mar 2000) |
| fossa epigastrica | The slight depression in the midline just inferior to the xiphoid process of the sternum. Synonym: fossa epigastrica, pit of stomach, scrobiculus cordis. (05 Mar 2000) |