epitrichium

[ep-i-trik-ee-uhm]

noun

Embryology.

plural

epitrichiums 

1. the outermost layer of the epidermis in most mammalian fetuses, usually disappearing before birth.

Other Word Forms

• epitrichial adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of epitrichium¹

1880–85; < New Latin epi- + -trichium < Greek tríchion, diminutive of thríx hair ( trichion ); so called because hair develops under it in human embryos

Example Sentences

These last form a single superficial layer of flattened cells—the epitrichium—overlaying the cells of the Malpighian layer, which are cylindrical in shape and rapidly increase to form several layers.

From Project Gutenberg