ScienceSeptember 4, 2026

braincase

BRAIN-kays

Definition

The part of the skull that encloses and protects the brain.

Etymology

The word is a straightforward compound of the Old English 'brægen' (brain) and the Old North French 'caisse' (case or chest), combining to describe the literal container for the brain.

In the news

In the article, researchers plan to use digital reconstruction to fix the deformation of Little Foot’s braincase to gain insights into the ancestor's brain size and cognitive abilities.

Digital reconstruction reveals a nearly 4 million-year-old human ancestor

Read the full article ↗

Scripps News

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