[a. L. fornix arch, vaulted chamber.] Something resembling an arch.
a. Anat. esp. an arched formation of the brain.
1681. trans. Willis’ Rem. Med. Wks., Vocab., Fornix, An hollow place in the Brain, bending like an Arch.
1799. Med. Jrnl., II. 329. The appearances on dissection are, water collected in greater or less quantity, with the fornix in the former case raised at its anterior extremity, in consequence of its accumulation.
1881. Mivart, Cat, 268. This fornix is made up of two white cords closely approximated anteriorly and diverging widely behind.
b. Bot. (See quots.)
1823. Crabb, Technol. Dict., s.v. Arch (Bot.) fornix, a small elongation of the corolla, which commonly covers the stamina, or is situated at the aperture of the corolla.
1862. M. C. Cooke, Man. Bot. Terms, Fornix, arched scales in the orifice of some flowers.
c. Conchol. ‘The excavated part of a shell, situated under the umbo. It also signifies the upper or convex shell in the Ostrea’ (Craig, 1848).
