Only recently have I discovered a word that truly deserves the title of my favorite and that word is Sella turcica. Trust me, this is actually a word; more specifically an anatomical term. The Sella turcica is an area on the Sphenoid bone in your skull but for those who are already lost and confused about what I just said think of the area between the back of your throat and your brain and you got the general idea.
If you were to ever encounter this word I can assure you it will be in an anatomy class or medical setting. You cannot inject it into regular speech; otherwise, you may confuse some people through lack of relevance. Only a few weeks ago did I even know this word was real but thanks to anatomy I have come to realize how cool it is.
What I really appreciate about this word is that it just rolls off the tongue. Like my legal name, Alexander Joseph Holland, it is fun to say really fast, kind of like a tongue twister. When thinking of the word Sella turcica I think of a cowboy’s saddle. These may sound like irrelevant subjects but again thank my anatomy course. I have learned that in your skull there are many foramens (holes in your skull to let veins and nerves pass through) so when we learned their names in anatomy we started with the Sella turcica since it is between multiple foramens. It was refered to as a cowboy’s Turkish saddle and from there you had a lasso, footholds and valleys but that isn’t entirely relevant. Anyways, what does matter is the word brings to mind a saddle.
I really do not want to go into what this word would smell or taste like because I am not a cannibal. I am pretty sure it would taste like and smell similar to brain tissue because the brain rests on the Sella turcica: don’t take my word for it though. Discussing the texture however is a different matter since I have felt one on a human skull in my class and I have found it to be quite smooth. My mind will always associate this word with anatomy for I have studied long and hard to memorize parts of the skull and now they are eternally stuck.
Ultimately, the word Sella turcica is my favorite, well sort of. Harpoon is my all time favorite word but it really has no specific story or reason behind it, it is just awesome.
I find it so awesome that you chose sella turcica as your favorite word, because I totally just learned it in my anatomy class! It rolls off the tongue which I like, and it really does look like a horse saddle! So good pick on the word-- your writing was very descriptive and explanatory too!
ReplyDeleteHaha I laughed out loud when you said "I am not a cannibal". Nice work with the strange word you'll probably never forget that word now. Hopefully it's a question on one of your tests for anatomy!
ReplyDeleteWow! That was intense! There were a lot of big words I had no idea what they meant. But I liked how you included a definition of them to clarify. Your anatomy class sounds intense! Cool, but intense! Are you planning on being a doctor or something? Anyway, good job on your description! :)
ReplyDeleteI am not going to be a doctor any more, well I think I am leaning more towards Business or Public Health, but anatomy is fascinating.
ReplyDeleteSo I've never been in an anatomy class, but I totally know what that word means, along with foramen spinosum, ischium, sphenoid bone and many many others. Don't get me wrong, I'm not bragging, I'm just the unfortunate victim of a roomie who is going into nursing. She gets me to help her study almost every night. So good luck in your class! and if your ever needing someone to help studying you know where to find me!
ReplyDeleteActually, that might count as two words. :)
ReplyDeleteLearning anatomy provides some awesome words: "phalanges" was my favorite for a long time after learning it in seventh grade. Isn't it great that all the pieces of our body have such interesting names?
Also, I think you should try to casually interject this word into everyday speech and see what happens . . .