zygapophysis

American

[zig-uh-pof-uh-sis, zahy-guh-] / ˌzɪg əˈpɒf ə sɪs, ˌzaɪ gə- /

noun

Anatomy.

one of the four processes of a vertebra, occurring in pairs that interlock each vertebra with the vertebrae above and below.

zygapophysis British

/ ˌzɪɡəˈpɒfɪsɪs, ˌzɪɡæpəˈfɪzɪəl, ˌzaɪɡə- /

noun

anatomy zoology one of several processes on a vertebra that articulates with the corresponding process on an adjacent vertebra

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

zygapophyses

plural

Etymology

Origin of zygapophysis

First recorded in 1850–55; zyg- ( def. ) + apophysis

Example Sentences

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zygapophyses

All the vertebrae join with their adjacent fellows through the intermediation of certain intervertebral pads, and also articulate by small processes at either end at the upper side of the arch, the zygapophyses.

From Text Book of Biology, Part 1: Vertebrata by Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023