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Definition of "ramus" [‖Ra•mus]

  • A branch, as of a plant, nerve, or blood vessel. (noun)
  • A bony process extending like a branch from a larger bone, especially the ascending part of the lower jaw that makes a joint at the temple. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "ramus" in a sentence
  • "The ramus is a long arm element that fastens to the lower jaw."
  • "—In the interval between the adjacent transverse processes each lumbar artery gives off a posterior ramus which is continued backward between the transverse processes and is distributed to the muscles and skin of the back; it furnishes a spinal branch which enters the vertebral canal and is distributed in a manner similar to the spinal branches of the posterior rami of the intercostal arteries (page 601)."
  • "“The V-shaped subpubic angle, blocky pubic body, and broad ischio-pubic ramus suggest male.”"