Difference between occiput and occipital?
My old professor used to use occiput instead of occipital during human osteology lectures. When I looked it up to verify, all I could find was 1) pertaining to the rear and base of the skull, or 2) pertaining to the region of the occipital bone. I had always assumed previously that it be the word they used for occipital over in Slovakia (where she attended University and got her Ph.D.)
Are the two interchangeable?
Answers:
Occiput is a noun,
occipital is an adjective.
Occiput is a region of the head corresponding to the occipital bone.
Occipital is habitually used as an abbreviated noun for "occipital bone".
It is imprecise to refer to the bone as "occiput".
Check your Nomina Anatomica.
Medicine has lots of words that are interchangeable, and you found a couple of them.
Technically "occiput" just scheme the back of the head in common. (Like in maternity they will talk just about the baby's position by the relationship of the back of its head to the mother's pelvis. Left occiput anterior means that the support of the baby's head is against the front side of the mother's left pelvic bone)
If you really want to talk more or less the the bone itself, it is the "occipital bone" which protects the "occipital lobe" of the brain. In osteology, though, I can see why it would pretty much be a waste of time to say "bone", so the "occipital bone" is shortened to just "occipital".
As long as everyone know what you're talking about, no need to split hair over wording or feel self conscious about which word you pick :o)
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Answers:
Occiput is a noun,
occipital is an adjective.
Occiput is a region of the head corresponding to the occipital bone.
Occipital is habitually used as an abbreviated noun for "occipital bone".
It is imprecise to refer to the bone as "occiput".
Check your Nomina Anatomica.
Medicine has lots of words that are interchangeable, and you found a couple of them.
Technically "occiput" just scheme the back of the head in common. (Like in maternity they will talk just about the baby's position by the relationship of the back of its head to the mother's pelvis. Left occiput anterior means that the support of the baby's head is against the front side of the mother's left pelvic bone)
If you really want to talk more or less the the bone itself, it is the "occipital bone" which protects the "occipital lobe" of the brain. In osteology, though, I can see why it would pretty much be a waste of time to say "bone", so the "occipital bone" is shortened to just "occipital".
As long as everyone know what you're talking about, no need to split hair over wording or feel self conscious about which word you pick :o)
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