Medical Meanings: Names of Bones Quiz

Answer: atlas

Atlas was the leader of the Titans. As punishment for treason, Zeus condemned Atlas to support the weight of the earth and the heavens on his shoulders. Similarly, the first cervical vertebra supports the weight and structures of the head. Gerhardus Mercator first used the name atlas for a collection of maps in the 1500's and he used an illustration of Atlas holding up the world on the title page.

Answer: axis

The second cervical vertebra is also called the axis, from the Latin "axis" and the Greek "axon", both meaning "axle". The axis (C2) has tooth-like projection, upon which the atlas (C1) fits and rotates, enabling us to turn our head. Most of the bones which make up the spine are named by using a letter (which reflects the region of the spine) and a number (which reflects its position within that region).

The first two cervical vertebrae are the only individual bones of the spine which also have alternative names.

Answer: coccyx

The correct medical term, coccyx, is derived from the Greek "kokkyx", meaning cuckoo, because this bone resembles a cuckoo's beak. It was also once known as the "whistle bone" because it was thought to be the cause of the noise which is associated with breaking wind.

Answer: sacrum

The sacrum is the curved triangular bone situated immediately above the coccyx or tailbone. It is actually made up of five bones fused together. The name "sacrum" is Latin for "sacred or holy". There are a number of explanations concerning the origin of this name.

The most likely explanation is that the shape of the bone may have resembled a cup or vessel used during religious ceremonies or sacrifices, or that the bone itself may have been used in sacred rites.

Answer: hyoid

The hyoid is a U-shaped bone located in the throat; it is connected to the tongue but not to any other bone. The name hyoid is derived from the Greek "hyoeides" meaning U-shaped. At post-mortem, a fractured hyoid often indicates death by strangulation or hanging.

Answer: vomer

The three bones of the ear (malleus, incus and stapes) are the smallest bones in the human body. The smallest is the stapes which is only about 3 millimetres (0.1 inch) long. In Latin, malleus means "hammer", incus means "anvil" and stapes means "stirrup".

The shapes of these bones reminded early anatomists of these items. The vomer is not a bone of the ear but it too was named because it resembled a tool. Vomer is Latin for "ploughshare" and is the name of the bone in the nasal septum.

Answer: ulnar nerve

The ulnar nerve is a nerve that lies close to the skin surface near the elbow. When you hit it, it causes a distinctive sensation. So strictly speaking, the "funny bone" is not a bone at all but a nerve! However, the bone in the upper arm is called the humerus because humerus is Latin for "upper arm". The pun lies in the fact that "humerus" sounds like "humorous".

Answer: soldiers

Phalanges is Greek for "closely knit row". Aristotle gave this name to the bones of the fingers because they resembled rows of Greek warriors ready for battle. Later the term was also applied to the bones of the toes. In ancient Greece, a phalanx was a formation in which the soldiers joined their shields and overlapped their spears in a close array.

Answer: clavicle

The collar bone is the clavicle (Latin for "little key"). Most sources say the name reflects the shape of the bone but some suggest that the name was applied because the bone appears to "close and lock" the bones which make up the chest. The scapula is the shoulder bone, the sternum is the breast bone and the xiphoid is the pointed end of the sternum.

Answer: innominate

The pelvis is made up of the sacrum, the coccyx and the right and left innominate (or hip) bones. The innominates in turn are made up of bones called the pubis, ischium and ilium. In ancient Roman times, the ilium, ischium and pubis had been named, but the whole structure that they formed had not, so Galen (perhaps the most famous of the ancient Roman physicians) referred to it as the innominate (Latin for "without a name"), a description which stuck.