meatus

(me-a’tus), pl. mea’tus [L. for “ "1. A pa age or opening. m. acus’tic us (audi to’- rius) exter’nus, the pa age through the temporal bone from the base of the zygomatic proce to the cavity of the tympanum; the external auditory canal. m. acus’tic us exter‘nus cartilagine’us, the cartilaginous portion of the preceding. m. acus’tic us [audi to’rius] inter‘nus, the pa age in the petrous part of the temporal bone for the facial and auditory nerves and ve els. m. audi to’rius, the pa age of the car in two parts (internal and external meatus). fish-mouth m., a red, swollen, and everted condition of the urinary meatus seen in the first stage of acute gonorrhea. m. na’si communis, the anterior space on either side of the nasal septum into which the three meatus open. m. na/si inferior, the inferior meatus of the nose. m. na’‘si me’dius, the middle meatus of the nose. m. na’si supe’rior, the superior meatus of the nose. m. nasopharyn’geus, that part of the nasal cavity that opens into the nasopharynx. m. of the nose, the three pa ages of the nostril (inferior, middle, and superior meatus). m.- tube, a fetal structure containing the tympanic bone, the tympanic bulla, and the cartilage lining the eustachian tube. m. ‘rius, the orificial part of the urethra (especially used of the male urethra). 560 MEDIAN