nuchal
/ˈnjuːk(ə)l
/adjective Anatomy
Relating to the nape of the neck.The excised nodule consisted of fibrocartilaginous tissue surrounded by dense connective tissue of the nuchal ligament....
- Palpation of the head in patients with tension-type headache may reveal tenderness in the pericranial muscles and tension in the nuchal musculature or trapezius.
- He considered that this change is secondary to mechanical factors, acting during the neck flexion, when the thick nuchal ligament is subjected to pressure and trauma as it passes over the spinous processes of the cervical vertebrae.
Origin
Mid 19th century: from obsolete nucha 'nape' (from medieval Latin nucha 'medulla oblongata', from Arabic nuḵa‘ 'spinal marrow') + -al.