Orifizi

Orifizi is the Italian plural noun of orifizio, meaning a natural opening, passage, or orifice. The term derives from Latin orificium, from oriri meaning to rise or begin. In Italian medical and scientific usage, orifizio denotes any natural opening within an organism or structure, such as the nasal opening (orifizio nasale), the anal opening (orifizio anale), or other bodily orifices. The plural orifizi is used when referring to multiple openings.

In broader scientific contexts, orifizi can describe openings or pores in non-animal systems as well, including plant tissues or geological materials, though in English these senses are typically described with terms like opening, pore, or pore rather than orifizi. In botanical descriptions, equivalent terms would be stomata or lenticels rather than orifizi, but Italian texts may still employ orifizio to refer to plant surface openings in some contexts.

The term is most common in Italian-language literature. In English-language science, orifice and opening are standard translations, and orifizio or orifizi appear primarily in bilingual works or discussions of Italian terminology. There is no widely recognized English-language entity named Orifizi; if encountered as a proper noun, it would typically refer to a person, place, or organization as defined by the specific context rather than by the general term.

Related terms include orifice, aperture, and stomata.