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Glite Dictionary
🦎 Above the temple 🦴 A skull bone
supratemporal

supratemporal

9.9
An area above the bone on the side of the head in the study of skulls
  • adjective
  • /ˌsuːprəˈtɛmpərəl/
  • Specialized
: supratemporal
  • This increase of the MMNs was significantly larger in the left supratemporal region in IWS compared with control participants.

Examples

  • In anatomy class, we learned that the supratemporal area plays a crucial role in auditory processing.

  • The surgeon accessed the brain through the supratemporal region to remove the tumor.

  • Jung points the way when he finds the self to be transempirical, in the nature of a supratemporal destiny.

    Academic text (1990)

  • The supratemporal bone is essential for understanding the structure of certain skulls in vertebrates.

Surface Forms

supratemporal positive

Morphology

supratemporal = temporal (semi-transparent) = supra + temporal

Formally 'supra-' + 'temporal' yields 'above the temporal area' which is morphologically clear, but 'supra-' is a specialized Latin prefix and the term is technical anatomical vocabulary.

Etymology

Supratemporal comes from the parts supra- 'above' and temporal 'temple', the side of the head. So it means 'above the temple area', which is why anatomists use it for parts of the skull above the temporal bone.