Humerale

Humerale is a term used in anatomy to refer to the humerus, the upper arm bone, in some languages and historical texts; in contemporary English, the standard term is humerus. It may appear as an adjectival or substantive form in Latin or Romance-language anatomical nomenclature.

Etymology and usage notes: The word derives from Latin, where humerale or humeralis relate to the shoulder region. In multilingual or older texts, humeral forms can appear as equivalents or translations of the English humerus, especially when describing fossil remains or comparative anatomy.

Anatomy and function: The humeral bone extends from the shoulder to the elbow, connecting proximally with the scapula and girdle, and distally with the radius and ulna. It provides surfaces for several muscle attachments and forms the major hinge-like joints of the forelimb, enabling a wide range of movements, including flexion, extension, and rotation.

Context and usage: In modern clinical and anatomical literature, the terms humerus or humeral are standard. Humerale may be found in older texts, Latin descriptions, or taxonomic descriptions of fossil forelimbs, where scholars preserve historical naming conventions or translate descriptions into Latin.

See also: humerus, shoulder joint, elbow joint, forelimb, anatomy.