innominate bone
- noun
- /ˌɪnəˈmɪnɪt boʊn/
- Specialized
- The fusion of three ossification centers, the ilium, the ischium, and the pubis, makes up the innominate bone.
Examples
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The pelvic ring is formed by the connection of the sacrum to the innominate bones at the sacroiliac (SI) joints and the symphysis pubis.
Academic text (2006) -
The sacrum comprises four fused vertebrae, and these articulate with the innominate bones (Figure 11).
Academic text (2001) -
The pelvis is a ring structure made up of three bones: the sacrum and two innominate bones.
Academic text (2006) -
The pelvis is a ring structure made up of three bones: the sacrum and two innominate bones.
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The fusion of three ossification centers, the ilium, the ischium, and the pubis, makes up the innominate bone.
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The pelvic ring is formed by the connection of the sacrum to the innominate bones at the sacroiliac joints.
Synonyms
A large bone at the side of the body that makes the top of the hips
A large bone on each side of the pelvis that forms the hip
How Technical
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward adjective + noun composition: 'innominate' means 'without a specific name' and 'bone' is literal, so a learner who knows both constituents can infer 'an unnamed (or not specifically named) bone' referring to part of the pelvis. Although the term is technical, its meaning is transparently built from the constituent meanings and follows common cross-linguistic patterns of adjective + noun naming.
Etymology
Innominate bone gets its name from a Latin word meaning 'unnamed' because early doctors who studied bones did not give this large hip bone its own name and it is really three bones joined together, ilium, ischium, and pubis. So the name reminds you that this is one big hip bone made of smaller parts.