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Glite Dictionary
precordium

precordium

9.9
The area on the front of the chest over the heart
  • noun
  • /prɪˈkɔrdɪəm/
  • Specialized
translation icon : precordio
  • The doctor placed the stethoscope on the precordium to listen for any irregular heart sounds.

Examples

  • The classic sign of pneumomediastinum is Hamman's sign, a crunching sound over the precordium that is synchronous with ventricular systole.

    Academic text (2006)

  • He pointed to the precordium area when describing where he felt the discomfort in his chest.

  • Three cases involved dislocation to below the inframammary fold (Figure 2), and the final case involved dislocation to the precordium.

    Academic text (2015)

  • During the examination, she noted that the patient had tenderness in the precordium region.

Synonyms

area of cardiac dullness
vsprecordium
  • Specialized
8.8

A triangular area on the front of the chest where the heart makes a dull sound when tapped

is the general front chest region examined clinically over the organ

Surface Forms

precordium singular
precordia plural

Morphology

precordium = pre + cor + ium

Although analyzable as pre- (before) + cor (heart) + -ium, this is a specialised anatomical term whose parts are not readily recognized by average learners and do not transparently yield the meaning.

Etymology

Precordium comes from the Latin parts pre- meaning 'before' and cor meaning 'heart', so it literally means the place 'in front of the heart'. That is why the precordium is the area on the front of the chest that doctors check to listen to or feel the heart.