foramen

[ fuh-rey-muh n ]

/ fəˈreɪ mən /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR foramen ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural fo·ram·i·na [fuh-ram-uh-nuh] /fəˈræm ə nə/.

an opening, orifice, or short passage, as in a bone or in the integument of the ovule of a plant.

Nearby words

forage mite, foraging, foraging ant, foraker, foram, foramen, foramen cecum medullae oblongatae, foramen magnum, foramen of vena cava, foramen spinosum, foramina

Origin of foramen

1665–75; < Latin forāmen hole, opening, equivalent to forā(re) to bore² “pierce” + -men resultative noun suffix

Related forms

fo·ram·i·nal

[fuh-ram-uh-nl] /fəˈræm ə nl/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for foramen

The foramen magnum, occipital condyles, and exoccipitals show no unusual features.
Systematic Status of a South American Frog, Allophryne ruthveni Gaige|John D. Lynch
Let him lie on his right side, for this favors the complete closure of the fetal heart valve, the foramen ovale.
The Mother and Her Child|William S. Sadler
Right anterior and posterior chevron processes united and pierced by a foramen.
The Beaked Whales of the Family Ziphidae|Frederick True
The brachial artery and median nerve pass through the foramen.
Artistic Anatomy of Animals|douard Cuyer

Probably not; and more especially if it is a lumbar artery, and injured in the foramen through which it passes from the vertebra.
Report on Surgery to the Santa Clara County Medical Society|Joseph Bradford Cox

British Dictionary definitions for foramen

foramen

/ (fɒˈreɪmɛn) /

noun plural -ramina (-ˈræmɪnə) or -ramens

a natural hole, esp one in a bone through which nerves and blood vessels pass

Derived Forms

foraminal (fɒˈræmɪnəl), adjective

Word Origin for foramen

C17: from Latin, from forāre to bore, pierce

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for foramen

foramen

[ fə-rā′mən ]

n. pl. fo•ra•mens

An aperture or perforation through a bone or a membranous structure.

Related forms

fo•ram′i•nal (-răm′ə-nəl) null adj.

Science definitions for foramen

foramen

[ fə-rā′mən ]

Plural foramina (fə-răm′ə-nə) foramens

An opening or short passage, especially in the body.♦ The large opening in the base of the skull through which the spinal cord passes is called the foramen magnum (măg′nəm).♦ The opening in the septum between the right and left atria of the heart, present in the fetus but usually closed soon after birth, is the foramen ovale (ō-văl′ē, -vā′lē, -vä′-).