Flexura

Flexura is a term of Latin origin meaning a bend or turning. In biology and medicine it denotes a natural bend or turning point in an organ or structure, and the word appears in anatomical names to indicate where a tubular organ changes direction.

In human anatomy, flexures are commonly described in the digestive tract and in the developing brain. In the large intestine, the hepatic flexure marks the bend between the ascending and transverse colon on the right side, while the splenic flexure marks the bend between the transverse and descending colon near the spleen. A sigmoid flexure marks the junction between the descending and sigmoid colon as the colon narrows toward the rectum. In embryology and neuroanatomy, the cephalic (cranial) flexure occurs as the neural tube bends at the forebrain–midbrain boundary, the cervical flexure marks a bend between hindbrain and spinal cord, and a later pontine flexure helps shape the hindbrain region and the ventricular system.

Beyond human anatomy, flexure appears in other contexts to describe bending or curvature. In botany, a flexure can refer to bending of stems or leaves under growth or mechanical stress. In geology and engineering, flexures describe bending of layers or structures under load, or regions where deformation changes direction.

Etymology: flexura comes from Latin flexura, derived from flectere, meaning to bend. The term is commonly found in Latinized anatomical nomenclature and in related scientific terminology.