ramus

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a branch or branchlike projecting part of an anatomical structure

   The surgeon traced the nerve into a smaller ramus that supplied the surrounding tissue.

2. 2
   noun

   the upright posterior portion on each side of the lower jaw

   The fracture extended from the angle of the jaw into the right ramus.

3. 3
   noun

   the main shaft of a feather barb from which the barbules extend

   Under the microscope, each ramus carried rows of interlocking barbules.

Borrowed directly from Latin ramus, 'branch or bough.' Anatomists and zoologists use the Latin branch metaphor for divisions and projecting parts of bones, nerves, blood vessels, and feathers. The regular plural is rami.

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