10 anatomical words that will impress your friends

At acupuncture school, we learn an awful lot of anatomy. This has two advantages:

1. We can diagnose and treat stuff.

2. We can use long anatomical words and sound cool.

Here are a few of our favourites, which fit nicely into all sorts of sentences. Gastrocnemius

What it is: The big muscle in your calf

Alternative use: My uncle's leg got taken clean off by a gastrocnemius in a river in Peru.

Triquetral

What it is: A knobbly little bone on the side of your wrist

Alternative use: Was Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars prequel or triquetral?

Crepitus

What it is: The crunching noise that knees make when going upstairs

Alternative use: Don’t cook pancakes for too long or the edges will go crepitus.

Sternocleidomastoid

What it is: The muscle in your neck that stands out when you turn your head

Alternative use: The earth will eventually be wiped out by a giant sternocleidomastoid from another solar system.

Olecranon process

What it is: The pointy bit of your elbow

Alternative use: I thought Matt Damon was brilliant in The Olecranon Process!

Subscapularis

What it is: The muscle between your shoulder blade and your ribs

Alternative use: Wasn't the subscapularis footage of those deep sea fish incredible?

Glabella

What it is: The skin between your eyebrows

Alternative use: Your Facebook post didn't just go viral in the UK, it went glabella!

Xiphoid

What it is: A strip of cartilage that sticks out from where your rib cage closes at the front

Alternative use: As well as being great on the marimba, Steve is an excellent xiphoid.

Zygomatic arch

What it is: Your cheek bone

Alternative use: I would love to build a zygomatic arch like on that episode of Grand Designs.

Thenar eminence

What it is: The lump of muscle on the palm of your hand at the base of your thumb

Alternative use: His eminence Cardinal Vincent Nichols weighs around 15st whereas the old Cardinal, his thenar eminence Henry Edward Manning, weighed just 10st.