[fee-tuh
s] 
| (used chiefly of viviparous mammals) the young of an animal in the womb or egg, esp. in the later stages of development when the body structures are in the recognizable form of its kind, in humans after the end of the second month of gestation. |
| fe·tus (fē'təs) n. pl. fe·tus·es
[Middle English, from Latin fētus, offspring; see dhē(i)- in Indo-European roots.] |
The embryo of an animal that bears its young alive (rather than laying eggs). In humans, the embryo is called a fetus after all major body structures have formed; this stage is reached about sixty days after fertilization.
fetus fe·tus (fē'təs)
n. pl. fe·tus·es
The unborn young of a viviparous vertebrate having a basic structural resemblance to the adult animal.
In humans, the unborn young from the end of the eighth week after conception to the moment of birth.
| fetus (fē'təs) Pronunciation Key
The unborn offspring of a mammal at the later stages of its development, especially a human from eight weeks after fertilization to its birth. In a fetus, all major body organs are present. fetal adjective |
