(for'niks , for'nĭ-sēz)

Plural: fornices

[L. fornix, stem fornic-, vault, arch]

1. A thick axon tract that originates in the hippocampus and synapses in the septum and the hypothalamus, esp., in the mammillary bodies. The fornix, a major component of the limbic circuit, receives its name from the broad arch that it makes along the hidden inner edge of the cerebral cortex, under the corpus callosum.

   SEE: limbic system for illus.

2. Any vaultlike or arched body.

f. conjunctivae The loose folds connecting the palpebral and bulbar conjunctivae.

f. uteri Fornix vaginae

f. vaginae Each of the four recesses that surround the cervix. The posterior fornix is deeper than the anterior or lateral (right and left) fornices. SYN: fornix uteri.