polyaxial

English

Etymology

From poly- +‎ axial.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌpɒl.iˈæk.si.əl/
• IPA^(key): /ˌpɑ.lɪˈæk.si.əl/

Adjective

polyaxial (not comparable)

1. Having more than one axis.
   • 2004, Hans-Rudolf Wenk, Andrei Bulakh, Minerals: Their Constitution and Origin, page 69,

     A crystal may contain rotation axes in different directions, defining the polyaxial point-groups. […] The general symbol for a polyaxial point group is n₁ n₂ n₃. The simplest case is 222 in the orthorhombic system with three 2-fold axes at right angles to each other (Figure 4.13a).

   • 2008, Michael F. O′Brien, Peter O. Newton, 48: Surgical Treatment of Adolecent Idiopathic Scoliosis, Daniel H. Kim, et al. (editors), Surgery of the Pediatric Spine, page 605,

     However, polyaxial screw heads can be controlled with an instrument in such a way as to mimic the monoaxial screw capability for direct vertebral rotation but ultimately retain the advantages of a polyaxial screws^[sic].

     The polyaxial screw is the most versatile. The polyaxial screw is a load-sharing device. A portion of the applied correction force is dissipated through the polyaxial connection protecting the bone-screw interface.

   • 2009, George J. Haidukewych, Procedure 25: Treatment of Periprosthetic Femoral Fractures above a Total Knee Arthroplasty, Arlen D. Hanssen, W. Norman Scott, Total Knee Replacement, unnumbered page,

     More modern, polyaxial designs allow screw angulation prior to end point locking, and these can be very useful if femoral component lugs or the like are encountered during drilling.

2. (botany) Axial about more than one axis.
   • 1990, C. N. Page, Piatae: General Traits of Conifers, K.U. Kramer, P.S. Green (editors), Pteridophytes and Gymnosperms, page 291,

     According to Florin, only the Taxaceae cannot be interpreted in terms of the polyaxial concept, since the single terminal ovule shows no evidence of having evolved from a bract and ovuliferous shoot system.

   • 2002, Antony William Whiley, B. Nigel Wolstenholme, The Avocado: Botany, Production and Uses, page 147,

     However, sustainable avocado production at acceptable commercial levels remains a challenge as the polyaxial, pseudo-terminal flowering architecture of avocado (Verheij, 1986) dictates that trees must continuously increase in size to remain productive (Whiley and Schaffer, 1994).

Synonyms

• multiaxial

Derived terms

• polyaxial screw
• polyaxiality
• polyaxially

See also

• polyaxial screw on Wikipedia.Wikipedia