nuchal
/ˈnu.kəl/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.96 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
1
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A neck scale, especially of a lizard.
adj
Of or pertaining to the back or nape of the neck.
Example Sentences
- "Dunn gives a key to a part of this group of Eumeces, based upon the number of nuchals, placing the two American species (he does not consider Eumeces altamirani Dugès) in a group having 14-17 pairs of nuchals;[…]."
- "Growth patterns of clavicles, cleithra, opercles, medial nuchals, dorsal scutes, and pectoral fin ray sections have been compared in white sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus."
- "Scales are weakly differentiated, with head scales flat and smooth, nuchals small and smooth, dorsal scales small and keeled, and tail scales larger ventrally than laterally, without wings."
- "What is the differential diagnosis of increased nuchal thickness? Although most fetuses with increased nuchal thickness are normal, the differential diagnosis of increased nuchal thickness includes an increased risk of fetal aneuploidy, particularly trisomy 21."
- "Nuchal thickness was the first sonographic marker associated with an increased risk of trisomy 21 in the fetus and is now accepted as the single most sensitive and specific marker for the detection of DS in the second trimester, in high- and low-risk pregnancies."
- "Many particulars of the nuchal torus region and nuchal plane are preserved (see Caspari, 1991 for further details, our description replies heavily on Caspari's work)."
Etymology
Borrowed from Medieval Latin nuchālis, from nucha + -ālis, from Arabic نُخَاع (nuḵāʕ, “spinal cord”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: nuchālis, نُخَاع, ن خ ع
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈnu.kəl/