clavicle

/ˈklævəkəl/

/ˈklævɪkəl/

Other forms: clavicles

The clavicle, more commonly known as the collarbone, connects your shoulder blade to you sternum.

The clavicle is the only long horizontal bone in the body (all the other long bones are vertical, such as those in the arms and legs). It evolved to provide a structural support for the arms, and also to serve as protection around blood vessels and nerves in that part of the body. The clavicles of birds are Y-shaped and, on a holiday turkey, are also called the "wishbone."

Definitions of clavicle

1. noun

   bone linking the scapula and sternum
   synonyms: collarbone

   type of:

   bone, os

   rigid connective tissue that makes up the skeleton of vertebrates