orificii

Orificii is a Latin term used in anatomy to denote openings or orifices that allow passage of substances between a body cavity, organ, or duct and another space or the exterior. The word derives from orificium, meaning “opening,” and appears in classical and medical Latin. Grammatically, orificii is the genitive singular of orificium, while orificia is the nominative plural. In modern usage, the term is most often encountered in Latin phrases or historical texts; contemporary English anatomy tends to employ terms such as ostium or apertura for openings, and may specify ductal or glandular connections as ostia or apertures.

In anatomical descriptions, orificii designate natural entrances to cavities, lumina, or ducts. They serve to mark where passages begin or terminate, rather than describing walls or internal surfaces of a cavity. The term is broader and somewhat archaic in contemporary practice, with more precise terminology preferred in modern textbooks.

Examples in older or Latinized texts may refer to the orificii of glands (the openings through which glands secrete into ducts) or the orificia of ducts that communicate with a body cavity or surface. In practice, the concept corresponds to what in current terminology would often be described as an ostium or opening of a duct, or sometimes an apertura.

See also: ostium, apertura, foramen, duct.