thoracicus

Thoracicus is a Latin adjective meaning "of the thorax" or "thoracic." In scientific usage it forms part of terms describing structures related to the chest or chest area. The word has masculine, feminine, and neuter forms: thoracicus, thoracica, and thoracicum, and it is typically combined with nouns in taxonomic, anatomical, or medical Latin.

In anatomy and medicine, thoracicus appears in many compound terms to indicate a thoracic relation. Examples include the ductus thoracicus, the thoracic duct, which carries lymph from the body into the venous system; arteria thoracica interna, the internal thoracic artery; and nervus thoracicus longus, the long thoracic nerve. These usages illustrate how thoracicus helps specify location within the chest region and distinguishes thoracic structures from those in other parts of the body.

In taxonomy, thoracicus is often used as a specific epithet in species names to signal features associated with the thorax or thoracic region. As with other Latin adjectives, its form agrees with the gender of the genus name.

Relation to English terminology is direct: the English adjective "thoracic" derives from the same Latin root and is used in similar ways to describe anatomy, physiology, and related fields.

See also: thorax, thoracic anatomy, Latin in biological nomenclature.