Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
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mesoderm mes·o·derm (měz'ə-dûrm', měs'-)
n.
The middle embryonic germ layer, lying between the ectoderm and the endoderm, from which connective tissue, muscle, bone, and the urogenital and circulatory systems develop.
mes'o·der'mic adj.
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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mesoderm  (měz'ə-dûrm') Pronunciation Key
The middle of the three primary germ layers of the embryos of vertebrates and other complex animals. In vertebrates, the mesoderm gives rise to the muscles, bones, cartilage, connective tissue, blood, blood and lymph vessels, dermis, kidneys, and gonads. The mesoderm develops during gastrulation from either the ectoderm or the endoderm. The embryos of simpler animals lack a mesoderm. Compare ectoderm, endoderm. |
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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mesoderm
the middle of the three germ layers, or masses of cells (lying between the ectoderm and endoderm), which appears early in the development of an animal embryo. In vertebrates it subsequently gives rise to muscle, connective tissue, cartilage, bone, notochord, blood, bone marrow, lymphoid tissue, and to the epithelia (surface, or lining, tissues) of blood vessels, lymphatic vessels, body cavities, kidneys, ureters, gonads (sex organs), genital ducts, adrenal cortex, and certain other tissues. See also ectoderm; endoderm
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