ACETABULUM (acetabula)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: acetabula   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does acetabulum mean? 

• ACETABULUM (noun)
  The noun ACETABULUM has 1 sense:

1. the cup-shaped hollow in the hipbone into which the head of the femur fits to form a ball-and-socket joint

  Familiarity information: ACETABULUM used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ACETABULUM (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The cup-shaped hollow in the hipbone into which the head of the femur fits to form a ball-and-socket joint

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

acetabulum; cotyloid cavity

Hypernyms ("acetabulum" is a kind of...):

socket (a bony hollow into which a structure fits)

Holonyms ("acetabulum" is a part of...):

hipbone; innominate bone (large flaring bone forming one half of the pelvis; made up of the ilium and ischium and pubis)

Derivation:

acetabular (of the cup-shaped socket that receives the head of the thigh bone)

 Context examples 

A ball-and-socket joint between the head of the femur and the acetabulum.

(Hip Joint, NCI Thesaurus)

Excludes fractures of the acetabulum and fractures of the femoral shaft below the subtrochanteric region (FEMORAL FRACTURES).

(Hip Fracture, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

A congenital or traumatic abnormality in which the femoral head slips out of the acetabulum.

(Hip Dislocation, NCI Thesaurus)

The highest portion of the femoral bone that articulates with the acetabulum.

(Head of the Femur, NCI Thesaurus)