SKELETAL STRUCTURE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does skeletal structure mean? 

• SKELETAL STRUCTURE (noun)
  The noun SKELETAL STRUCTURE has 1 sense:

1. any structure created by the skeleton of an organism

  Familiarity information: SKELETAL STRUCTURE used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SKELETAL STRUCTURE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any structure created by the skeleton of an organism

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("skeletal structure" is a kind of...):

anatomical structure; bodily structure; body structure; complex body part; structure (a particular complex anatomical part of a living thing and its construction and arrangement)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "skeletal structure"):

rib cage (the bony enclosing wall of the chest)

arch (a curved bony structure supporting or enclosing organs (especially the inner sides of the feet))

heel (the back part of the human foot)

girdle (an encircling or ringlike structure)

column (any tubular or pillar-like supporting structure in the body)

appendicular skeleton (the part of the skeleton that includes the pectoral girdle and the pelvic girdle and the upper and lower limbs)

axial skeleton (the part of the skeleton that includes the skull and spinal column and sternum and ribs)

back; backbone; rachis; spinal column; spine; vertebral column (the series of vertebrae forming the axis of the skeleton and protecting the spinal cord)

metacarpus (the part of the hand between the carpus and phalanges)

metatarsus (the skeleton of the human foot between the toes and the tarsus; the corresponding part of the foot in birds or of the hind foot in quadrupeds)

tarsus (the part of the foot of a vertebrate between the metatarsus and the leg; in human beings the bones of the ankle and heel collectively)

Holonyms ("skeletal structure" is a part of...):

frame; skeletal system; skeleton; systema skeletale (the hard structure (bones and cartilages) that provides a frame for the body of an animal)

 Context examples 

The study of the mechanics of a living body, especially of the forces exerted by muscles and gravity on the skeletal structure.

(Biomechanics, NCI Thesaurus)

The basin-shaped skeletal structure that is formed by the sacrum and the ilium, ischium, and pubis of each side that supports the trunk and to which the lower extremities attach.

(Pelvic Girdle, NCI Thesaurus)