mastoid

views updated Jun 11 2018

mas·toid / ˈmasˌtoid/ • adj. Anat. of or relating to the mastoid process: mastoid disease.• n. Anat. the mastoid process. ∎ (mastoids) [treated as sing.] inf. mastoiditis.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

mastoid

views updated Jun 08 2018

mastoid (mas-toid) adj. relating to the mastoid process. m. antrum an air-filled channel connecting the mastoid process to the cavity of the middle ear. m. cells air spaces in the mastoid process. m. process a nipple-shaped process on the temporal bone that extends downward and forward behind the ear canal.

A Dictionary of Nursing

mastoid

views updated May 21 2018

mastoid (anat., of bones, etc.) nipple-shaped. XVIII. — F. mastoïde or modL. mastoīdēs — Gr. mastoeidḗs, f. mastós breast; see -OID.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

mastoid process

views updated May 17 2018

mastoid process In animals, a bony outgrowth behind the ear: it contains air spaces which communicate with the middle ear.

A Dictionary of Zoology MICHAEL ALLABY

mastoid process

views updated May 21 2018

mastoid process An outgrowth from the temporal bone of the skull containing air cavities that communicate with the cavity of the middle ear. In humans it is a route through which infection may spread from the middle ear.

A Dictionary of Biology