anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

, a meatus (, , : meatus or meatuses)Entry "meatus" in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
is a natural body opening or canal. Meatus may refer to: * the

external acoustic meatus The ear canal (external acoustic meatus, external auditory meatus, EAM) is a pathway running from the outer ear to the middle ear. The adult human ear canal extends from the auricle to the eardrum and is about in length and in diameter. Str ...

, the opening of the

ear canal The ear canal (external acoustic meatus, external auditory meatus, EAM) is a pathway running from the outer ear to the middle ear. The adult human ear canal extends from the auricle to the eardrum and is about in length and in diameter. S ...

* the internal auditory meatus, a canal in the

temporal bone The temporal bone is a paired bone situated at the sides and base of the skull, lateral to the temporal lobe of the cerebral cortex. The temporal bones are overlaid by the sides of the head known as the temples where four of the cranial bone ...

of the

skull The skull, or cranium, is typically a bony enclosure around the brain of a vertebrate. In some fish, and amphibians, the skull is of cartilage. The skull is at the head end of the vertebrate. In the human, the skull comprises two prominent ...

* the

urinary meatus The urinary meatus (, ; : meati or meatuses), also known as the external urethral orifice, is the opening of the penis or vulva where urine exits the urethra during urination. It is also where semen exits during male ejaculation, and other fluids ...

, which is the opening of the

urethra The urethra (: urethras or urethrae) is the tube that connects the urinary bladder to the urinary meatus, through which Placentalia, placental mammals Urination, urinate and Ejaculation, ejaculate. The external urethral sphincter is a striated ...

, situated on the

glans penis In male human anatomy, the glans penis or penile glans, commonly referred to as the glans, (; from Latin ''glans'' meaning "acorn") is the bulbous structure at the Anatomical terms of location#Proximal and distal, distal end of the human penis ...

in males and in the

vulval vestibule The vulval vestibule (also known as the vulvar vestibule or vestibule of vagina) is the part of the vulva between the labia minora. At the innermost part are the vaginal introitus and urinary meatus. The Bartholin's and Skene's glands each ha ...

in females * one of three

nasal meatus In anatomy, the term nasal meatus can refer to any of the three meatuses (passages) through the skulls nasal cavity: the superior meatus (''meatus nasi superior''), middle meatus (''meatus nasi medius''), and inferior meatus (''meatus nasi inferio ...

es: the superior meatus, middle meatus and inferior meatus; each are passages through the

nasal cavity The nasal cavity is a large, air-filled space above and behind the nose in the middle of the face. The nasal septum divides the cavity into two cavities, also known as fossae. Each cavity is the continuation of one of the two nostrils. The nas ...

within the skull (The plural forms of "meatus" are: ''meatus'', as a Latin form (of the fourth declension noun class, which the word belongs to); or ''meatuses'', as a normally derived English plural; or often, and incorrectly, ''meati'', by false analogy with the very common Latin ''-us/-i'' forms (such as ''alumnus/alumni''), i.e., the second declension noun class.)

References

Animal anatomy {{Set index article pt:Meato

See also

References