canalis

Canalis is a Latin noun meaning channel or passage and is used in anatomy to designate a natural tubular passage through which vessels, nerves, or other structures pass. In anatomical nomenclature, canalis is used in Latinized names of specific channels, and the form canalis (singular) with canales in the plural. The term reflects the long-standing influence of Latin in medical terminology and is often preserved in modern anatomical terms such as canalis vertebralis, canalis caroticus, and canalis opticus.

Examples include canalis vertebralis, the spinal canal within the vertebral column that houses the spinal cord and its meninges; canalis caroticus, the carotid canal in the temporal bone through which the internal carotid artery and accompanying nerves pass; canalis opticus, the optic canal in the sphenoid bone that transmits the optic nerve and ophthalmic artery; canalis inguinalis, the inguinal canal in the anterior abdominal wall through which the spermatic cord or round ligament and other structures pass; and canalis pterygoideus, the pterygoid canal in the region of the sphenoid, conveying nerve and vessel components of the pterygoid canal.

See also: canal, anatomical terminology, Latin in medicine.