popliteal

[ pop-lit-ee-uhl, pop-li-tee- ]
See synonyms for popliteal on Thesaurus.com
adjectiveAnatomy.
  1. of or relating to the ham, or part of the leg back of the knee.

Origin of popliteal

1
First recorded in 1780–90; poplite(us) + -al1

Words Nearby popliteal

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use popliteal in a sentence

  • This was a case of popliteal aneurism, operations for which had heretofore proved pretty uniformly fatal.

  • The popliteal depression is deep, and the summit of the great trochanter rises considerably above the level of the head.

    Extinct Birds | Walter Rothschild
  • It is not uncommon, indeed, on amputating above the knee, to find even the popliteal artery plugged by a clot.

    Manual of Surgery | Alexis Thomson and Alexander Miles
  • The rupture of a popliteal aneurysm, however, by compressing the vein and the articular branches, usually determines gangrene.

    Manual of Surgery | Alexis Thomson and Alexander Miles
  • When an embolus becomes impacted at the bifurcation of the popliteal, if gangrene ensues it usually spreads well up the leg.

    Manual of Surgery | Alexis Thomson and Alexander Miles

British Dictionary definitions for popliteal

popliteal

/ (pɒpˈlɪtɪəl, ˌpɒplɪˈtiːəl) /


adjective
  1. of, relating to, or near the part of the leg behind the knee

Origin of popliteal

1
C18: from New Latin popliteus the muscle behind the knee joint, from Latin poples the ham of the knee

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