Bone Marking TYPES

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Basic concepts for understanding bone geography

TERM

PRONUNCIATION

DESCRIPTION/TRANSLATION

Angle

ANG-gul

An inside or outside corner

Body

BOD-ee

The main or central portion of a

bone

Border

BOHR-der

Edge or boundary of a bone

Condyle

KON-dyle

Rounded bump; usually fits into a

fossa on another bone to form a
joint [literally knuckle]

krest

Moderately raised ridge; generally

a site for muscle attachment
[literally tuft or comb]

Epicondyle

ep-i-KON-dyle

Bump near a condyle; often gives

the appearance of a bump on a
bump; for muscle attachment
[literally upon a knuckle]

Facet

fah-SET or
FASS-et

Crest

Fissure

FISH-ur

Foramen
(pl., foramina
or foramens)

foh-RAY-men or
FO-ra-men
(foh-RAM-in-ah
or
foh-RAY-menz)

Flat surface that forms a joint with

another facet or at bone
[literally little face]
Long, cracklike hole for blood
vessels / nerves [literally a split]

Round hole for vessels and nerves

[literally hole]

EXAMPLES

Angle of mandible
Inferior angle of scapula
Lateral angle of scapula
Superior (medial) angle of scapula
Subpubic angle
Body of sphenoid bone
Body of mandible
Body of vertebra
Body of sternum
Body of rib
Superior border of scapula
Medial (vertebral) border of scapula
Lateral (axillary) border of scapula
Occipital condyle
Lateral condyle of femur
Medial condyle of femur
Lateral condyle of tibia
Medial condyle of tibia
Iliac crest of coxal (pelvic) bone
Pubic crest of coxal (pelvic) bone
Intertrochanteric crest of femur
Crest of tibia
Lateral epicondyle of humerus
Medial epicondyle of humerus
Lateral epicondyle of femur
Medial epicondyle of femur
Superior articular facet of vertebra
Inferior articular facet of vertebra
Superior orbital fissure of sphenoid
Inferior orbital fissure of sphenoid
Stylomastoid foramen of temporal bone
Jugular foramen of temporal
bone
Supraorbital foramen of frontal bone
Foramen rotundum of sphenoid bone
Optic foramen of sphenoid bone
Foramen ovale of sphenoid bone
Foramen lacerum of sphenoid bone
Foramen spinosum of sphenoid bone
Foramen magnum of occipital bone
Infraorbital foramen of maxilla
Mandibular foramen
Mental foramen of mandible
Spinal foramen of vertebra
Obturator foramen of coxal (pelvic) bone

TERM

PRONUNCIATION

DESCRIPTION/TRANSLATION

Fossa
(pl., fossae)

FOSS-ah
(FOSS-ee)

Depression; often receives an

articulating bone [literally ditch]

Head

hed

Distinct epiphysis on a long bone,

separated from the shaft by a
narrowed portion (or neck)

Line
(Latin linea)

lyne
(LEEN-ee-ah or
LIN-ee-ah)

Similar to a crest but not raised as

much (is often rather faint)

Margin

MARJ-in

Edge of a at bone or at area

Meatus
(pl., meatus or
meatuses)

mee-AYT-us
(mee-AYT-us-ez)

Tubelike opening or channel

[literally passage]

Neck

nek

A narrowed portion, usually at the

base of a head

Notch

notch

A V-like cut out of the margin or

edge of a at area

Process

PRAH-ses or
PRO-ses

Projection or raised area

EXAMPLES

Mandibular fossa of temporal bone

Jugular fossa of temporal bone
Subscapular fossa
Olecranon fossa of humerus
Coronoid fossa of humerus
Intercondylar fossa of femur
Head of rib
Head of humerus
Head of radius
Head of ulna
Head of metacarpal bone
Head of femur
Head of fibula
Head of metatarsal bone
Superior nuchal line of occipital bone
Inferior nuchal line of occipital bone
Superior temporal line of parietal bone
Inferior temporal line of parietal bone
Intertrochanteric line of femur
Linea aspera of femur
Supracondylar lines of femur
Intercondylar line of femur
Supraorbital margin of frontal bone
Infraorbital margin of maxilla
External acoustic meatus of temporal
bone acoustic meatus of temporal
Internal
bone
Neck of mandible
Neck of rib
Anatomical neck of humerus
Surgical neck of humerus
Neck of radius
Neck of femur
Supraorbital notch
Trochlear (semilunar) notch of ulna
Radial notch of ulna
Greater sciatic notch of coxal bone
Lesser sciatic notch of coxal bone
Intercondylar notch of femur
Mastoid process of temporal bone
Zygomatic process of temporal bone
Styloid process of temporal bone
Temporal process of zygomatic bone
Alveolar process of maxilla
Palatine process of maxilla
Condylar process of mandible
Coronoid process of mandible
Alveolar process of mandible
Spinous process of vertebra

TERM

PRONUNCIATION

DESCRIPTION/TRANSLATION

Process
(continued)

EXAMPLES

Transverse process of vertebra

Superior articulating process of vertebra
Inferior articulating process of vertebra
Xiphoid process of sternum
Coracoid process of scapula
Styloid process of radius
Coronoid process of ulna
Styloid process of ulna
Ramus of mandible
Superior pubic ramus
Inferior pubic ramus
Frontal sinus
Sphenoid sinus
Ethmoid sinus
Maxillary sinus
Spine of scapula
Spine of vertebra
Anterior superior spine
Anterior inferior spine
Posterior superior spine
Posterior inferior spine
Ischial spine

Ramus
(pl., rami)

RAY-mus
(RAY-mye or
RAY-mee)

Curved portion of a bone, like a

rams horn [literally branch]

Sinus

SYE-nus

Cavity within a bone [literally

hollow]

Spine

spyne

Sharp, pointed process; similar to

crested but raised more; for
muscle attachment [literally
thorn]

Sulcus
(pl., sulci)

SUL-kus (SUL-kee
or SUL-kye or
SUL-sye)

Groove or elongated depression

[literally trench]

Intertubercular sulcus

Trochanter

troh-KAN-ter or
TROH-kan-ter

Large bump for muscle attachment

(larger than a tubercle or
tuberosity) [literally runner]

Greater trochanter of femur

TOO-ber-kul

Small tuberosity (see below); small

oblong bump [tubercle is
literally small bump or small
lump]

too-ber-AH-sih-tee

Oblong, raised bump, usually for

muscle attachment; also called a
tuber; a small tuberosity is
called a tubercle [tuber is
literally bump or lump]

Tubercle

Tuberosity

Radial sulcus

Lesser trochanter of femur

Tubercle of rib
Greater tubercle of humerus
Lesser tubercle of humerus
Pubic tubercle
Adductor tubercle of femur
Frontal tuberosity
Deltoid tuberosity of humerus
Radial tuberosity
Ischial tuberosity
Tibial tuberosity

NOTES:
1. Bone marking names are arranged alphabetically, not by location, structure, or function.
2. In Latin, modifiers follow the terms they describe. Thus, foramen magnum can be translated in exact parallel as
hole that is huge but is best rendered as huge hole.
3. Literal translations of structure names may be helpful in locating them or remembering their shape or function.
However, they are not necessarily accurate or complete descriptions of the structure.

4. Some alternate pronunciations are given here but many other pronunciations are possible.

Kevin Patton at lionden.com Rev. 20 SEP 13 For reuse, please contact permissions@lionden.com
Some material adapted by permission from Anatomy & Physiology by Patton & Thibodeau (Mosby/Elsevier)