PUNCTUM SALIENS, in anatomy, the first rudiments of the heart in the formation of the foetus, where a throbbing motion is perceived. This is said to be
easily observed with a microscope in a broad-egg, wherein, after conception, we see a little speck or cloud, in the middle whereof is a spot that appears to beat or leap a considerable time before the foetus is formed for hatching. See the article FOETUS.