The fossa or Foussa (Cryptoprocta ferox) is a large carnivorous mammal found only in Madagascar. It is about the size of an otter, but is related to the civet and mongoose. It is brown in colour, has a long tail, short legs, teeth like a cat's and lives mainly in trees feeding on birds and small mammals. Research Fossa
The Venerable Bede (Beda or Baeda) was an Anglo-Saxon scholar. He was born in 672 or 673 in the neighbourhood of Monkwearmouth, county Durham and died in 735. He was educated at St Peter's monastery, Wearmouth; took deacon's orders in his nineteenth year at St Paul's monastery, Jarrow, and was ordained priest at thirty by John of Beverley, bishop of Hexham.
His life was spent in studious seclusion, the chief events in it being the production of homilies, hymns, lives of saints, commentaries, and works in history, chronology, grammar, etc. He was the most learned Englishman of his day, and in some sense the father of English history, his most important work being his Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum (or Ecclesiastical History of England), afterwards translated by King Alfred into Anglo-Saxon. Besides his familiarity with Latin, he knew Greek and had some acquaintance with Hebrew.
Most of his writings were on scriptural and ecclesiastical subjects, but he also wrote on chronology, physical science, grammar, etc, and had considerable ability in the writing of Latinverse. An interesting record of his closing days was preserved in a letter by his pupilCuthbert. After his death his body was after a lapse of time removed from Jarrowchurch to Durham, but of the shrine which formerly inclosed them only the Latin inscription remains, ending with the verse 'Hac sunt in fossa Bedae venerabilis ossa.' Research Bede
The coronoid fossa is a depression located on the lower end of the front of the humerus. It accepts the coronoid process of the ulna when the elbow joint is in flexion. Research Coronoid Fossa
The digastric fossa apears as a slight irregularity in the back surface of the mandible, slightly below the central incisors. This region is directly below the incisive fossa. Research Digastric Fossa
The iliac fossa is the broad, slightly concave inner surface of each ala, or win, or the ilium. The fossa, along with the pubis and ischium, create a basin in which the lower abdominal organs rest. Research Iliac Fossa
The iliopsoas is actually the blending of two muscles, the large, flat triangulariliacus and the fusiform psoas major. It is considered a single muscle group that begins deep in the back of the abdomen where the iliacus orignates from the iliac fossa and the psoas major originates from the bodies of the vertebrae and invertebral disks from the twelfth thoracic to the fifth lumbar and the transverse processes of the lumbarvertebrae. The muscle converges towards its insertion on the back of the femur. It is innervated by the lumbar plexus and supplied by posterior branches of the profunda femoris artery. This muscle is a powerful flexor of the hip joint. It flexes the thigh when kicking, or the pelvis and trunk when doing sit-ups. Research Iliopsoas
The incisive fossa is the surface of the inner part of the maxilla, just behind the teeth. It features the incisive foramen, an opening which lies directly behind the central incisors mounted in the maxilla, at the median palatine suture. The incisive foramen leads to a channel which proceeds upward through the maxillary bone, to terminate in the nasalcrest of the maxilla, at the floor of the nasal cavity. Research Incisive Fossa
The infraspinatus muscle is attached along the broad inner edge of the scapula. It originates from the infraspinous fossa of the scapula and narrows into a strong tendon that inserts firmly to the top of the humerus. This muscle is innervated by the suprascapular nerve from the fifth to sixth cervical nerves and supplied by the circumflex artery. The infraspinatus muscle sits on the back of the shoulder blade below the spine and under the deltoid muscle. It works with the supraspinatus muscle to help lift and twist the upper arm. These two muscles also help support and protect the shoulder joint by keeping the head of the humerus in place. Research Infraspinatus
The jugular fossa is the surface of the skull where the temporal and occipital bones meet. It features the jugular foramen, an opening in the skull formed at the juncture of the occipital and temporal bones. The jugular foramen admits the internal jugular vein and five nerves (three cranial, the glossopharyngeal, vagus, and accessory). Research Jugular Fossa
The lachrymal bones (lacrimal bones) are two of the smaller bones in the face, and form part of the medial walls of the orbit cavities and part of the side walls of the nasal cavity. The lachrymal bones, in conjunction with part of the maxilla, feature small channels, called lachrymal fossa, which allow the tear ducts to drain into the nasal cavity. Research Lachrymal Bone
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Fossa
