tenaculum

American  

[tuh-nak-yuh-luhm] / təˈnæk yə ləm /

noun

plural

tenacula

1. Surgery. a small sharp-pointed hook set in a handle, used for seizing and picking up parts in operations and dissections.

2. Entomology. a clasplike appendage on the abdomen of a springtail, which holds the springing device in place.

---

tenaculum British  

/ tɪˈnækjʊləm /

noun

1. a surgical or dissecting instrument for grasping and holding parts, consisting of a slender hook mounted in a handle

---

Etymology

Origin of tenaculum

1685–95; < Latin tenāculum instrument for gripping, equivalent to ten ( ēre ) to hold + -ā- (from v. stems ending in -ā-; gubernaculum ) + -culum -cule ²

Example Sentences

These teeth line a cartilage-based structure known as the tenaculum, a forehead appendage that loosely resembles Squidward's nose.

From Science Daily

"The tenaculum is a developmental relic, not a bizarre one-off, and the first clear example of a toothed structure outside the jaw."

From Science Daily

Males use the tenaculum both for display and function.

From Science Daily

This unusual lack of denticles led scientists to question what became of them -- and whether the teeth on the tenaculum might represent their evolutionary remnants.

From Science Daily

The scans showed that both male and female ratfish begin making a tenaculum early on.

From Science Daily