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Rostral is an adjective used to describe things that have or resemble a beak or snout.

More generally, rostral means involving a rostrum, which has several meanings. In biology, it refers to a beak or beaklike part. This sense of the word was extended to refer to the beaklike projection on the prow of a ship, especially one on an ancient Roman warship that was used for ramming enemy ships. The ancient Romans sometimes decorated columns with the rostrums of captured ships (or with representations of them), and the adjective rostral can be used to describe such columns (called rostral columns).

Rostrum perhaps most commonly refers to a kind of platform for public speaking. However, the word rostral is most often used in the context of anatomy, especially of animals.

Example: This species is known for the rostral projection on its head.

The first records of the word rostral in English come from around 1700. It ultimately comes from the Latin ��ō���ٰ�um, meaning “snout,” “bill,” “beak of a bird,” or “ship’s prow” (when used in its plural form, ��ō���ٰ�a, it referred to a speaker’s platform, a reference to the fact that this platform in the Roman forum was decorated with the prows of captured ships).

Though rostral can be used to describe many different things, it typically involves things that project outwards from the front of something, like a beak or snout projects out from an animal’s face. Though the word rostral is usually associated with animal anatomy, it is used in human anatomy as well, such as in relation to parts of the spine.

What are some other forms related to rostral?

• rostrally (adverb)
• postrostral (adjective)
• subrostral (adjective)��

What are some words that share a root or word element with rostral?��

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• rostrum
• rostrate
• rostrocarinate

What are some words that often get used in discussing rostral?

• column
• anatomy
• beak
• snout
• prow
• ram
• ship
• platform
• stage

Rostral is often used in the context of animal anatomy.

Sawfish are named after their long rostrum or ‘saw’ on the front of their head, which is lined with a series of rostral teeth.

— BBC Wildlife (@WildlifeMag)

Exhibit of the Day: Psittacosaurus from the Hall of Ornithischian Dinos! It lived ~100 mil yrs ago & despite its lack of horns, it was a member of the same group as Triceratops! Psittacosaurus was named for its rostral bone, which formed the tip of its upper beak.

— American Museum of Natural History (@AMNH)

Oscillatory neuronal interactions between the basolateral and the rostral anterior cingulate gyrus of the medial prefrontal cortex () while monkeys perform a social decision-making task

— Nature Neuroscience (@NatureNeuro)

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True or False?��

Rostral can be used to describe an architectural column that’s decorated with sculptures of the prows of ships.