coccygeal vertebra
- noun
- /kɒkˈsɪdʒiəl ˈvɜːrtɪbrə/
- Specialized
:
vértebra coxígea
- An injury to a coccygeal vertebra can cause persistent pain while sitting.
Examples
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During development, the coccygeal vertebrae fuse to form a single coccyx in adulthood.
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The surgeon examined the alignment of each coccygeal vertebra before closing the incision.
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The coccygeal vertebra is often referred to as the tailbone.
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Did you know that the coccygeal vertebrae can vary in number?
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An injury to a coccygeal vertebra can cause persistent pain while sitting.
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The surgeon examined the alignment of each coccygeal vertebra before closing the incision.
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During development, the coccygeal vertebrae fuse to form a single coccyx in adulthood.
Synonyms
15
5.8
A small bone in the spine with a hole for the spinal cord
A spine bone at the lower end of the body, found in tails and the human coccyx
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'coccygeal' specifies the coccyx (tailbone) region and 'vertebra' names a spinal bone, so the phrase denotes a vertebra of the coccyx. This is a straightforward technical adjective+noun construction common in medical terminology and is therefore understandable to a learner who knows both constituent words.
Etymology
Coccygeal vertebra comes from a Greek word for 'cuckoo' because the little tailbone looked like a bird's beak, and coccygeal links to that image while vertebra means a 'small bone'. So the phrase means 'one of the small bones that make the tailbone at the base of the spine'.