sternum Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the flat bone that articulates with the clavicles and the first seven pairs of ribs
    breastbone.

WordNet

Ster"num noun
Etymology
NL., from Gr. , the breast, chest.
Wordforms
plural L Sterna E Sternums
Definitions
  1. (Anat.) A plate of cartilage, or a series of bony or cartilaginous plates or segments, in the median line of the pectoral skeleton of most vertebrates above fishes; the breastbone. ✍ The sternum is connected with the ribs or the pectorial girdle, or with both. In man it is a flat bone, broad anteriorly, narrowed behind, and connected with the clavicles and the cartilages of the seven anterior pairs of ribs. In most birds it has a high median keel for the attachment of the muscles of the wings.
  2. (Zoöl.) The ventral part of any one of the somites of an arthropod.

Webster 1913