osseous labyrinth
- noun
- /ˈɑsiəs ˈlæbəˌrɪnθ/
- Specialized
- The osseous labyrinth protects the inner ear's delicate structures.
Examples
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Imaging revealed an abnormality within the patient's osseous labyrinth.
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During the procedure, the surgeon carefully avoided damaging the osseous labyrinth.
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The osseous labyrinth protects the delicate structures of the inner ear.
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Anatomists study the osseous labyrinth to understand ear functions.
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During the procedure, the surgeon carefully avoided damaging the osseous labyrinth.
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Imaging revealed an abnormality within the patient's osseous labyrinth.
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The osseous labyrinth protects the delicate structures of the inner ear.
Synonyms
Small connected spaces in the inner ear that help a person hear and keep balance
A hollow part of the skull bone that holds and protects the inner ear
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is fully compositional: 'osseous' means 'bony' and 'labyrinth' here denotes the inner-ear cavity, so the phrase simply denotes the bony (as opposed to membranous) part of the inner-ear labyrinth. Although technical, the meaning follows a straightforward modifier+noun pattern and is cross‑linguistically parallel (e.g., Spanish 'laberinto óseo'), so a learner who knows both constituents can derive the full meaning.
Etymology
Osseous labyrinth comes from words meaning osseous 'bone' and labyrinth 'maze', so it gives the clear image of a tiny maze made of bone that holds and protects the inner ear.