axial skeleton

axial skeleton

n.

The bones constituting the head and trunk of a vertebrate body.

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axial skeleton

n

(Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Anatomy) the bones that together comprise the skull and the vertebral column

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

axial skeleton - the part of the skeleton that includes the skull and spinal column and sternum and ribs breastbone, sternum - the flat bone that articulates with the clavicles and the first seven pairs of ribs skull - the bony skeleton of the head of vertebrates rib cage - the bony enclosing wall of the chest skeletal structure - any structure created by the skeleton of an organism endoskeleton - the internal skeleton; bony and cartilaginous structure (especially of vertebrates) spinal column, spine, vertebral column, rachis, backbone, back - the series of vertebrae forming the axis of the skeleton and protecting the spinal cord; "the fall broke his back"