View source for Fusiform

{{Short description|Spindle-like shape}}
[[File:Spindle with cotton yarn.jpg|thumb|[[spindle (textiles)|Spindle]] with yarn]]
[[File:Lemon (geometry).png|thumb|A ''[[lemon (geometry)|lemon]]'' in geometry]]
{{Wiktionary|fusiform|fusiformis}}
'''Fusiform''' (from Latin ''fusus'' ‘spindle’) means having a [[spindle (textiles)|spindle]]-like shape that is wide in the middle and tapers at both ends. It is similar to the [[lemon (geometry)|lemon-shape]], but often implies a focal broadening of a structure that continues from one or both ends, such as an [[aneurysm]] on a [[blood vessel]].
== Examples ==
* Fusiform, a body shape common to many [[aquatic animal]]s, characterized by being tapered at both the head and the tail<ref name="Ulanski 2003 p. 93">{{cite book | last=Ulanski | first=S.L. | title=The Science of Fly-fishing | publisher=University of Virginia Press | year=2003 | isbn=978-0-8139-2210-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8d6yECc8kpsC&pg=PA93 | access-date=13 July 2021 | page=93}}</ref>
* Fusiform, a classification of [[aneurysm]]
* Fusiform bacteria (spindled rods, that is, fusiform bacilli), such as the [[Fusobacteriota]]
* Fusiform [[cell (biology)]]
* [[Fusiform face area]], a part of the human visual system which seems to specialize in facial recognition
* [[Fusiform gyrus]], part of the temporal lobe of the brain
* [[Fusiform muscle]], where the fibres run parallel along the length of the muscle
* Fusiform neuron, a spindle-shaped [[neuron]]
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:Geometric shapes]]
== See also ==
* [[Streamliner]], a fusiform hydro-/aero-dynamic vehicle. Historically, the adjective "streamlined" was more commonly used among designers for the word "fusiform".