The Collaborative International Dictionary
Temporal \Tem"po*ral\, a. [L. temporalis, fr. tempora the temples: cf. F. temporal. See Temple a part of the head.] (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the temple or temples; as, the temporal bone; a temporal artery.
Temporal bone, a very complex bone situated in the side of the skull of most mammals and containing the organ of hearing. It consists of an expanded squamosal portion above the ear, corresponding to the squamosal and zygoma of the lower vertebrates, and a thickened basal petrosal and mastoid portion, corresponding to the periotic and tympanic bones of the lower vertebrates.
Wiktionary
n. Either of two compound bones that collectively make up the sides and base of the skull.
WordNet
n. a thick bone forming the side of the human cranium and encasing the inner ear [syn: os temporale]
Wikipedia
The temporal bones are situated at the sides and base of the skull, and lateral to the temporal lobes of the cerebral cortex.
The temporal bones are overlaid by the sides of the head known as the temples and house the structures of the ears. The lower seven cranial nerves and the major vessels to and from the brain traverse the temporal bone.
Usage examples of "temporal bone".
In one of these, the squamosal section of the temporal bone had been crushed, and another showed a jagged hole through the parietal bone.
In those instances, the nicks or cuts were not generally associated with temporal bone, but that meant nothing, really.
Five tiny grooves, two above and three posterior to the auditory canal on the right temporal bone.
She was bleeding under the right temporal bone, but doctors had managed to stanch it.
Nell spun the nunchuks around, working them up to a hum, anda bead on his temporal bone.
Beyond informing the Sergeant that the bullet had entered the skull through the temporal bone, and would be found lodged in the brain, Dr Warcop had nothing more to tell him.