os sphēnoīdeum

Meaning

1. sphenoid bone
   Pars squamosa, in reliquis mammalibus minor, in homine quidem sub osse parietali inter alas magnas ossis sphenoidei et os occipitis interposita, cranii latera inferiora efformat, in aliis vero, v. c. in Ruminantibus, ad cranii formationem nihil confert, sed veluti squama ossi parietali ita incumbit, ut removeri possit , absque ut vapuum fiat in encephali receptaculo.The squamous part, smaller in other mammals, in man interposed under the parietal bone between the large wings of the sphenoid bone and the occipital bone, forms the lower sides of the skull, but in others, e.g. in Ruminants, it contributes nothing to the formation of the skull, but rests like a scale on the parietal bone in such a way that it can be removed without causing damage to the brain's receptacle.1864, Jan van der Hoeven, Philosophia Zoologica, E. J. Brill, page 176:

Declension

Origins

From os (“bone”) + sphēnoīdeus (“sphenoid”).