mesentery

[mes-uh n-ter-ee, mez-]

noun, plural mes·en·ter·ies. Anatomy.

the membrane, consisting of a double layer of peritoneum, that invests the intestines, attaching them to the posterior wall of the abdomen, maintaining them in position in the abdominal cavity, and supplying them with blood vessels, nerves, and lymphatics, especially the part of this membrane investing the jejunum and ileum.

Origin of mesentery

1375–1425; late Middle English < New Latin mesenterium < Greek mesentérion (equivalent to mes- mes- + entérion, neuter of entérios of the bowel); see enteron

Related formsmes·en·ter·ic, adjectivein·ter·mes·en·ter·ic, adjectivepost·mes·en·ter·ic, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for mesentery

Historical Examples of mesentery

The veins of the omentum, mesentery, and intestines, were full of blood.
Cases of Organic Diseases of the Heart
John Collins Warren
The mesentery is a delicate, narrow membrane about twenty feet long.
What a Young Woman Ought to Know
Mary Wood-Allen
The other edge of the mesentery is gathered up as you have gathered the ruffle.
What a Young Woman Ought to Know
Mary Wood-Allen
The mesentery, stomach and intestines were excessively thin and transparent.
Fasting Girls
William Alexander Hammond
Unfold this tube, separating it from its enveloping membrane, the mesentery.
Elementary Zoology, Second Edition
Vernon L. Kellogg

British Dictionary definitions for mesentery

mesentery

noun plural -teries

the double layer of peritoneum that is attached to the back wall of the abdominal cavity and supports most of the small intestine

Derived Formsmesenteric, adjective

Word Origin for mesentery

C16: from New Latin mesenterium; see meso- + enteron

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for mesentery

fold of the peritoneum, early 15c., from medical Latin mesenterium "middle of the intestine," from medical Greek mesenterion, from mesos "middle" (see medial (adj.)) + enteron "intestine" (see enteric). Related: Mesenteric.

mesentery in Medicine

mesentery

[mĕz′ən-tĕr′ē]

A double layer of peritoneum attached to the abdominal wall and enclosing in its fold certain organs of the abdominal viscera.
A fold of the peritoneum that connects the intestines to the dorsal abdominal wall, especially such a fold that envelops the jejunum and ileum.

Related formsmes′en•ter′ic adj.