A natural passage or canal, as in the middle meatus.
Latin = passage; adjective - meatal.
(L. passage or canal): M. (Internal Acoustic): A short passage on the posterior surface of the petrous temporal bone that transmits the facial and vestibulocochlear nerves and the labyrinthine artery.
In anatomy, a meatus is a natural body opening or canal (pl. meatus, or meatuses).