Meanings
plural opisthenars
- rareanatomyThe back of the hand.
Blood samples were obtained from the opisthenar vein for measurements of lactate.
1998, Koichi Okita et al., “Skeletal Muscle Metabolism Limits Capacity in Patients With Chronic Heart Failure”, in Circulation, volume 98, number 18, pages 1886–18913 more examples
Her mother favored a multiyear project: obscenities carved in intricate and clever juxtapositions, descending every finger, curling in lettered whorls across the palm, fanning in offensive rays across the opisthenar, which is the name for the back of the hand, a word that Leilani knew because she had studied the structure of the human hand in detail, the better to understand her difference.
2001, Dean R. Koontz, One Door Away from Heaven, Random House, →ISBN, page 497The handstrap includes an opisthenar-surrounding strap portion (3) which attaches to a handgrip (1) by way of transmission straps (4, 5) extending under the palm and thumb.
2002, Taisto Manninen et al., "Handgrip for a Skiing, Walking or Skating Pole and Handstrap Fastened to the Same" (U.S. patent application), abstractSeventy seconds after iodine contrast medium […] was injected at 1.0 ml/sec (total 100 ml) from^([sic]) the opisthenar vein, the whole breast was examined […]
2002, Hiroshi Nakahara et al., “Extension of Breast Cancer: Comparison of CT and MRI”, in Radiation Medicine, volume 20, number 1, page 17
Origin
From opistho- (“behind, back”) + thenar (“palm of the hand”). By surface analysis, opis- + thenar.
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
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Cite this entry
opisthenar. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/opisthenar
“opisthenar.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/opisthenar. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “opisthenar,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/opisthenar.
Source: opisthenar on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.