cranio-
(ˈkreɪnɪəʊ)
before a vowel crani-, combining form of Gr. κρᾱνίον cranium.
a. In combinations, chiefly in sense ‘belonging or relating to the cranium and{ddd}’; as cranio-ˈfacial a., belonging to both the cranium and the face; cranio-ˈspinal a., belonging to the cranium and the spine; so craniaˈcromial [acromion], cranio-phaˈryngeal, cranio-thoˈracic, cranio-ˈvertebral adjs.; also cranio-tabes (-ˈteɪbiːz) [L. tābēs wasting away, putrefaction], ‘a form of rickets in which the skull bones are softened’ (Syd. Soc. Lex.).
b. In derivative formations, as craniˈectomy [Gr. ἐκτοµή excision], see quot. ˈcranioˌcele [see cele n.], ‘the protrusion of a part of the encephalon from the cranial cavity’ (Syd. Soc. Lex.). ˈcranioˌclasm [Gr. κλάσµα fracture, breaking], the breaking up of the fœtal head in the operation of craniotomy; ˈcranioˌclast [Gr. -κλάστης breaker], an instrument for doing this. ˌcranioˈgnomic a. [Gr. γνωµικ-ός of or pertaining to knowledge], pertaining to craniognomy. craniˈognomy [Gr. γνώµη knowledge], ‘the science of the form and characteristics of the skull’(Syd. Soc. Lex.). craniˈognosy [Gr. γνῶσις knowledge] = prec. ˈcranioˌgraph [Gr. -γραϕος writer], an instrument for taking drawings of the skull; craniˈographer, one who draws or describes skulls; craniˈography, description of skulls. craniˈometer [Gr. µέτρον measure], an instrument for taking measurements of skulls; ˌcranioˈmetric, ˌcranioˈmetrical a, pertaining to craniometry; hence ˌcranioˈmetrically adv.; craniˈometrist, one who practises craniometry; craniˈometry, measurement of the skull. craniˈopathy [Gr. -πάθεια, f. πάθος suffering], ‘disease of the cranium’ (Syd. Soc. Lex.). ˈcranioˌphore [Gr. -ϕορος bearing], an instrument invented by Topinard for measuring the dimensions and proportions of the skull. ˈcranioˌplasty [Gr. -πλαστία, f. πλαστός moulded, fashioned], an operation for supplying deficiencies in the cranial structures. craniˈopolis (nonce-wd.) [Gr. πόλις city], a city of skulls. ˌcranioˈscopic, ˌcranioˈscopical a., pertaining to cranioscopy; craniˈoscopist, one who studies cranioscopy; craniˈoscopy [Gr. -σκοπία, f. -σκοπος that views], examination of the size and configuration of the skull; formerly applied to what is now commonly called phrenology. ˌcranioˈsophic a. (nonce-wd. after philosophic, etc.), learned in skulls. ˈcranioˌtome [Gr. -τοµος cutting], ‘name for the trephine; also a name for the craniotomy forceps’ (Syd. Soc. Lex.); craniˈotomy [Gr. -τοµία, f. -τοµος cutting], in obstetric surgery, an operation in which the head of the fœtus is cut open and broken down when it presents an obstacle to delivery; hence craniotomy forceps, a forceps used in this operation.
| 1891 Lancet 3 Oct. 761 [The operation] of *craniectomy, in which a strip of bone is removed from the cranium and the development of the brain..allowed to go on. |
| 1860 Simpson Cranioclasm in Syd. Soc. Year-bk. (1861) 357 The operations of craniotomy, cephalotripsy, and *cranioclasm. |
| Ibid. In the latter operation [Cranioclasm] two instruments are necessary—a perforator..and the *Cranioclast. |
| 1852–9 Todd Cycl. Anat. IV. 656/1 The number of *cranio-facial segments. |
| 1813 Pantologia, *Craniognomy..a visionary system of physiognomy lately brought forward by Dr. Gall of Vienna. |
| 1810 Phil. Mag. XXXVI. 74 Materials for a comparative *craniognosy. |
| 1878 Bartley tr. Topinard's Anthrop. 271 Profile taken with M. Broca's *craniograph. |
| 1861 Wright Ess. Archæol. I. v. 84 To the Anglo-Saxon cemeteries..I would especially invite the attention of the *craniographer. |
| Ibid. 83 That branch of it [ethnology] which may be conveniently..termed *craniography. |
| 1878 Bartley tr. Topinard's Anthrop. 297 The *craniometer substitutes mathematical data for the uncertain data founded on judgment and opinion. |
| Ibid. 219 Requisite for *craniometrical study. |
| 1882 Athenæum 2 Dec. 738/3 A list of the *craniometric measures and processes adopted. |
| 1889 Harper's Mag. June 105/1 Having been *craniometrically examined. |
| Ibid. 105/2 He invited her to a comparative measurement by the authorized *craniometrists. |
| 1861 Cleland in Syd. Soc. Year-bk. 30 On a Method of *Craniometry. 1881 Trans. Vict. Inst. 28 Craniometry indicates that the natives of these islands are more mixed than either of the other Polynesian races. |
| 1882 Syd. Soc. Lex., *Craniopharyngeal ligament, the thickened median part of the pharyngeal aponeurosis attached to the tuberculum pharyngeum of the basilar process of the occipital bone. |
| 1878 Bartley tr. Topinard's Anthrop. ii. iii. 274 A new *craniophore (an instrument for taking all the cranial projections) by Paul Topinard. |
| 1818 Blackw. Mag. IV. 328 A populous Place of Skulls—a *Craniopolis like the catacombs. |
| 1813 W. Taylor in Monthly Mag. XXXV. 140 [Dr. Gall's] *cranioscopic passion. |
| 1820 Blackw. Mag. VI. 651 *Cranioscopical landmarks drawn so geometrically by their rivals. |
| 1809–10 Coleridge Friend (1818) III. 79 A literary man, whose skull puzzled the *cranioscopists. |
| 1804 Edin. Rev. III. 415 Uroscopy has..given way to *cranioscopy. 1865 Masson Rec. Brit. Philos. iii. 191 Gall, whose system of Cranioscopy, publishing itself under the name of Phrenology [etc.]. |
| 1819 Blackw. Mag. IV. 564 A *Craniosophic public would disdain that work. |
| 1847 Todd Cycl. Anat. III. 641/2 The *cranio-spinal cavity. 1849 H. Mayo Truths Pop. Superst. v. 78 The segments of the cranio-spinal cord in which the sentient and voluntary nerves are rooted. |
| 1860 Syd. Soc. Year-bk. (1861) 400 *Cranio-tabes occurring epidemically. |
| 1855 Ramsbotham Obstetr. Med. 22 A woman whom I delivered..by *craniotomy. |