Piriform, sometimes ''pyriform'', means pear-shaped (from

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''pirum'' "pear" and ''forma'' "shape"). It may also refer to:

Anatomy

Piriform aperture The piriform aperture, pyriform aperture, or anterior nasal aperture is a pear-shaped opening in the human skull. Its long axis is vertical, and narrow end upward; in the recent state it is much contracted by the lateral nasal cartilage and the gr ...

, more commonly known as anterior nasal aperture *

Piriform cortex The piriform cortex, or pyriform cortex, is a region in the brain, part of the rhinencephalon situated in the cerebrum. The function of the piriform cortex relates to the sense of smell. Structure The piriform cortex is part of the rhinencephal ...

, a region in the brain *

Piriformis muscle The piriformis muscle () is a flat, pyramidally-shaped muscle in the buttock, gluteal region of the lower limbs. It is one of the six muscles in the lateral rotator group. The piriformis muscle has its origin upon the front surface of the sacrum, ...

, a gluteal muscle **

Piriformis syndrome Piriformis syndrome is a condition which is believed to result from nerve compression at the sciatic nerve by the piriformis muscle. It is a specific case of deep gluteal syndrome. The largest and most bulky nerve in the human body is the s ...

, a neuromuscular disorder in which the piriformis muscle compresses the sciatic nerve *

Piriform sinus The pyriform sinus (also piriform recess, piriform sinus, piriform fossa, or smuggler's fossa) is a small recess on either side of the laryngeal inlet. It is bounded medially by the aryepiglottic fold, and laterally by the thyroid cartilage and ...

, piriform recess or piriform fossa, synonyms referring to one of the four sites of the hypopharynx * The (notionally) pear-like

female body shape Female body shape or female figure is the cumulative product of a woman's bone structure along with the distribution of muscle and fat on the body. Female figures are typically narrower at the waist than at the bust and hips. The bust, waist ...

(gynoid shape) ** Pear-shaped obesity (adiposity highest on hips and thighs), in contrast with apple-shaped obesity (central adiposity,

abdominal obesity Abdominal obesity, also known as central obesity and truncal obesity, is the human condition of an excessive concentration of visceral fat around the stomach and abdomen to such an extent that it is likely to harm its bearer's health. Abdominal ...

)

Other uses

Piriform Software Piriform Software Ltd. is a British software company based in London, owned since 2017 by Avast which itself became part of Gen Digital in 2022. The company develops cleaning and optimisation tools for Microsoft Windows, macOS and Android (opera ...

, a software company * Piriform, in

hydrostatic equilibrium In fluid mechanics, hydrostatic equilibrium, also called hydrostatic balance and hydrostasy, is the condition of a fluid or plastic solid at rest, which occurs when external forces, such as gravity, are balanced by a pressure-gradient force. I ...

* Pyriform, a teapot shape introduced in the 18th century {{disambiguation