‖ modiolus
(məʊˈdaɪələs)
[L. modiolus bucket on water-wheel, nave of wheel, trepan, etc., dim. of modius modius.]
1. Surg. The crown of a trepan. rare—0.
| 1693 tr. Blancard's Phys. Dict. (ed. 2), Modiolus, Trepanum, or Anabaptiston, an Instrument which they use in..Contusions, Cuts, and Fractures of Bone. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Modiolus..Also a Trepan. 1891 Syd. Soc. Lex., Modiolus..Also, the crown of a trephine. |
2. Zool. Earlier name for the genus of mussels Modiola (see modiola 1); = Mytilus modiolus Linn.
| [1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XII. 610/1, Art. Mytilus, The modiolus, or great mussel.] |
3. Anat. The conical axis around which the cochlea of the ear winds.
| 1823 in Crabb Technol. Dict. 1840 E. Wilson Anat. Vade M. (1842) 469 The central axis or modiolus is large near its base, where it corresponds with the first turn of the cochlea. |