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Where do the names of bones come from?

 Where do the names of bones come from?

BY barry allen· 25/03/2021


Most bones have Latin or Greek names, and many describe what they look like, where they are, or what they do. The bones in the inner ear are called the ‘malleus’, ‘incus’ and ‘stapes’, which mean hammer, anvil and stirrup. The word ‘patella’ (the kneecap) means shallow dish, while ‘pelvis’ means basin. ‘Femur’ means thigh, ‘vertebra’ comes from the Latin verb ‘to turn’, and ‘mandible’ from the Latin for ‘to chew’.

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