Entorhinale

Entorhinale is a term encountered in a small body of literature but it does not have a standardized definition in contemporary English. In mainstream neuroscience and anatomy, the region is referred to as the entorhinal cortex, and the adjective entorhinal is used to describe related structures and functions. When entorhinale appears, it is typically either a historical or non-English variant, a misspelling of entorhinal, or a declined form in languages that inflect adjectives.

Etymology and form: The word derives from entorhinal, which itself traces to entorhin- (relating to the nose) and the Latin suffix -al. The form entorhinale is not common in modern English medical writing.

Possible senses: In most contexts, entorhinale would be intended to indicate something pertaining to the entorhinal region, usually the entorhinal cortex, a region in the medial temporal lobe involved in memory formation and spatial navigation. In speculative or fiction contexts, entorhinale could be used as a proper name for a hypothetical neural tissue network or a fictional organism, but such usage would be nonstandard.

See also: Entorhinal cortex, rhinal cortex, hippocampus, navigation, memory.