Definition of "ensiform" [en•si•form]

• Shaped like a sword, as the leaf of an iris. (adjective)

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.

• "(Mauser), through the seventh left costal cartilage, 1 inch from the base of the ensiform cartilage; _exit_, below the twelfth rib 2 inches to the right of the lumbar spines."
• "Complete motor and sensory paralysis below ensiform cartilage, with well-marked hyperæsthetic zone around trunk."
• "Evidence of mediastinal hæmorrhage existed in the presence of subcutaneous discoloration of the abdominal wall, below the ensiform cartilage and extending slightly over the costal margin of the thorax."