tarsometatarsus

[tahr-soh-met-uh-tahr-suh s]

noun, plural tar·so·met·a·tar·si

[tahr-soh-met-uh-tahr-sahy, -see] /ˌtɑr soʊˌmɛt əˈtɑr saɪ, -si/. Ornithology.

the large bone in the lower leg of a bird with which the toe bones articulate, formed by the fusion of tarsal and metatarsal bones.

Origin of tarsometatarsus

First recorded in 1850–55; tarso- + metatarsus

Related formstar·so·met·a·tar·sal, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for tarsometatarsus

Historical Examples of tarsometatarsus

The medial metatarsal depression is large; it is on the medial surface of the proximal end of the tarsometatarsus.
Variation in the Muscles and Nerves of the Leg in
E. Bruce Holmes
The lateral branch of the tendon on the tarsometatarsus is not ossified (true also of some legs of Tympanuchus).
Variation in the Muscles and Nerves of the Leg in
E. Bruce Holmes
About midway down the tarsometatarsus this tendon becomes ossified.
Myology and Serology of the Avian Family Fringillidae
William B. Stallcup
The insertion is tendinous on the posterior surface of the hypotarsus and along the posterolateral ridge of the tarsometatarsus.
Myology and Serology of the Avian Family Fringillidae
William B. Stallcup
The greater mass of the bipartite muscle probably makes possible a stronger extension of the tarsometatarsus.
Myology and Serology of the Avian Family Fringillidae
William B. Stallcup

British Dictionary definitions for tarsometatarsus

tarsometatarsus

noun plural -si (-saɪ)

a bone in the lower part of a bird's leg consisting of the metatarsal bones and some of the tarsal bones fused together

Derived Formstarsometatarsal, adjective

Word Origin for tarsometatarsus

C19: tarso-, from tarsus + metatarsus

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