axial skeleton
- noun
- /ˈæk.si.əl ˈskɛl.ɪ.tən/
- Specialized
:
esqueleto axial
- The doctor explained that the axial skeleton includes the skull, spine, ribs, and sternum.
Examples
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Bone density scanning, using dual energy absorptiometry (DXA) scan of the axial skeleton (using the lumbar spine and hip), is considered to be the 'gold standard' of diagnostic techniques.
Academic text (2015) -
As a result, the axial skeleton and musculature were relieved of design constraints whose function was to maintain the shape of the body when it rested on the earth.
Academic text (2003) -
During the anatomy class, we learned how the axial skeleton supports the body's weight.
-
The axial skeleton plays a crucial role in protecting vital organs like the brain and heart.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'axial' (related to the central line or axis) with 'skeleton' (the bones supporting the body): together they denote the bones along the body's central axis (skull, spinal column, sternum, ribs). This adjective+noun composition is compositional and cross-linguistically regular, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Axial skeleton comes from axial, from the idea of an 'axis' or 'central line', and skeleton, meaning 'bones'. It names the bones along the body's central line, like the skull, spine and ribs, and that's why 'axial skeleton' means the bones that protect the body's most important parts.
