mesonephros

American  

[mez-uh-nef-ros, mes-, mee-zuh-, -suh-] / ˌmɛz əˈnɛf rɒs, ˌmɛs-, ˌmi zə-, -sə- /

noun

Embryology.

plural

mesonephroi

1. one of the three embryonic excretory organs of vertebrates, becoming the functional kidney of fishes and amphibians and becoming part of the tubules or ductules in the reproductive systems of higher vertebrates.

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mesonephros British  

/ ˌmɛsəʊˈnɛfrɒs /

noun

1. the middle part of the embryonic kidney in vertebrates, becoming the adult kidney in fishes and amphibians and the epididymis in reptiles, birds, and mammals See also pronephros metanephros

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Other Word Forms

• mesonephric adjective

Etymology

Origin of mesonephros

1875–80; < New Latin, equivalent to meso- meso- + Greek nephrós kidney

Example Sentences

Ms. is the mesonephros, some or all of which becomes the epididymis in the male of types possessing that organ, and is connected with G. by the vasa efferentia.

From Text Book of Biology, Part 1: Vertebrata by Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)

The genital ridge runs along the inner edge of the mesonephros, with which the testicular tubules become connected.

From Hormones and Heredity by Cunningham, J. T.

Ms., the mesonephros, is the epididymis in the male, and is reduced in the female; Ms.d., its duct, is the vas deferens in the male, and persists only as the urinary receptacle in the female.

From Text Book of Biology, Part 1: Vertebrata by Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)