pectorale

Pectorale is a Latin adjective meaning "of the chest" or "pectoral." The term appears in scientific terminology to designate structures located in or near the chest. The Latin root pectus means chest or breast, and the suffix -ale forms adjectives.

In human anatomy, the standard English form is pectoral, as in pectoral muscles or pectoral girdle. The muscles known as the pectoralis major and pectoralis minor lie on the anterior chest and function in movements of the shoulder and arm. The pectoral girdle is the set of bones (clavicle and scapula) that connects the upper limb to the trunk.

In zoology and comparative anatomy, pectoral denotes features near the chest, most notably the pectoral fins in fishes and the pectoral girdle in tetrapods. These structures relate to locomotion and limb attachment, and their form varies across vertebrate groups.

The term’s use in Latin and in modern scientific language reflects its core meaning: relating to the chest or front part of the body. In English, pectoral is more common, while pectorale appears primarily in Latin inscriptions, taxonomic descriptions, and some Romance-language texts as an inflected form.