pectoral girdle

American  

noun

1. (in vertebrates) a bony or cartilaginous arch supporting the forelimbs.

2. Also called shoulder girdle.  (in humans) the bony arch formed by the clavicles, or collarbones, and scapulas, or shoulder blades.

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pectoral girdle British  

noun

1. a skeletal support to which the front or upper limbs of a vertebrate are attached

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Etymology

Origin of pectoral girdle

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

At first, the pectoral girdle enabled gill-lifting muscles to better open the mouth, leading to the evolution of diverse fish feeding systems, Brazeau says.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 1, 2023

Known placoderms have at most five gill arches, others having evolved into jaws and the hyoid, so the pectoral girdle derives from what was once the sixth gill arch, Brazeau’s team concludes.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 1, 2023

Fast forward 100 million years, and fish called placoderms swam the seas, with jaws and a primitive “shoulder” or pectoral girdle supporting paired front fins.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 1, 2023

Another change in the axial skeleton was the loss of a direct attachment between the pectoral girdle and the head.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

In the same way the hyoid apparatus is part and parcel of the parietal vertebra, and the pectoral girdle and fore-limbs part of the occipital vertebra.

From Form and Function A Contribution to the History of Animal Morphology by E. S. (Edward Stuart) Russell