Sternum /(?)/

Ster·num

Sternum

n.

pl. Sterna, Sternums

  1. A plate of cartilage, or a series of bony or cartilaginous plates or segments, in the median line of the pectoral skeleton of most vertebrates above fishes; the breastbone. (Anat.)
  2. The ventral part of any one of the somites of an arthropod. (Zool.)