Common Bone Markings

Question 1

ANGLES

Answer 1

Sharp bony angulations that may serve as bony or soft tissue attachments, but are often used for precise anatomical description
- EX: superior, inferior, & acromial angle of the scapula

Question 2

BODY

Answer 2

Largest, most prominent segment of bone

- EX: shaft of long bones (like femur & humerus)

Question 3

CONDYLE

Answer 3

Large prominence that often provides structural support to the overlying hyaline cartilage

• Bears the brunt of the force exerted from the joint
• EX: knee joint (hinge joint)

Question 4

CREST

Answer 4

Raised or prominent part of the edge of a bone where connective tissue attaches muscle to bone
- EX: iliac crest of the ilium

Question 5

DIAPHYSIS

Answer 5

Main part or the shaft of of a long bone

- EX: femur, humerus, & tibia

Question 6

EPICONDYLE

Answer 6

Prominence that sits atop a condyle, attaching muscle & connective tissue to bone

• Provides support to musculoskeletal system
• EX: femoral, medial, & lateral epicondyles

Question 7

EPIPHYSIS

Answer 7

Articulating segment of a bone, usually at proximal & distal poles of the bone

• Usually has larger diameter than the shaft (diaphysis)
• Critical for the growth of bone because it sits adjacent to the growth plate (physeal plate)

Question 8

FACET

Answer 8

Smooth, flat surface that forms a joint with another flat bone or another facet, forming a gliding joint
- EX: facet joints of the vertebrae

Question 9

FISSURE

Answer 9

Open slit in a bone

• Contains blood vessels & nerves
• EX: superior & inferior orbital fissure

Question 10

FORAMEN

Answer 10

Hole through which nerves & blood vessels pass

- EX: mental foramen on the cranium

Question 11

FOSSA

Answer 11

Shallow depression in the bone surface

• May receive another articulating bone, or act to support brain structures
• EX: posterior, middle, & anterior cranial fossa

Question 12

GROOVE

Answer 12

Furrow in the bone surface that runs along the length of a vessel or nerve, providing space to avoid compression by adjacent muscle or external forces
- EX: radial groove

Question 13

HEAD

Answer 13

Rounded, prominent extension of bone that forms part of a joint; main articulating surface with adjoining bone

• Forms a ball-and-socket joint
• Separated from from the shaft by the neck
• Covered in hyaline cartilage inside a synovial capsule
• EX: head of femur

Question 14

MARGIN

Answer 14

Edge of any flat bone used to accurately define a bone’s borders
- EX: occipital margin of temporal bone (edge of the temporal bone articulates with occipital bone)

Question 15

MEATUS

Answer 15

Tubelike channel that extends within the bone

• Provides passage & protection to nerves, vessels, & sound
• EX: internal auditory meatus

Question 16

NECK

Answer 16

Segment between the head and the shaft of a bone, differentiated from the head by presence of the physeal line or physeal scar

• Anatomical Neck- may represent the old epiphyseal plate, often denoted by attachment to capsular ligaments
• Surgical Neck- more distal & is the site on the neck most commonly fractured
• EX: anatomical & surgical neck of humerus

Question 17

NOTCH

Answer 17

Depression in a bone, often provides stabilization to an adjacent articulating bone, which slides in & out of the notch

• Guides the range of motion of the joint
• EX: trochlear notch of ulna

Question 18

RAMUS

Answer 18

Curved part of a bone, gives structural support to the rest of the bone
- EX: superior & inferior pubic ramus

Question 19

SINUS

Answer 19

Cavity within any organ or tissue

- EX: paranasal & dural venous sinus

Question 20

SPINOUS PROCESS

Answer 20

Raised, sharp elevation of bone where muscles & connective tissue attach
- More pronounced than a normal process

Question 21

TROCHANTER

Answer 21

Large prominence on the side of a bone that attaches large muscle groups & most dense connective tissue
- EX: greater & lesser trochanter of femur

Question 22

TUBEROSITY

Answer 22

Moderate prominence where muscles & connective tissues attach, has similar function to a trochanter
- EX: tibial tuberosity

Question 23

TUBERCLE

Answer 23

Small, rounded prominence where connective tissues attach

- EX: greater & lesser tubercle of humerus