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mesoderm

American  
[mez-uh-durm, mes-, mee-zuh-, -suh-] / ˈmɛz əˌdɜrm, ˈmɛs-, ˈmi zə-, -sə- /

noun

Embryology.
  1. the middle germ layer of a metazoan embryo.


mesoderm British  
/ ˈmɛsəʊˌdɜːm /

noun

  1. the middle germ layer of an animal embryo, giving rise to muscle, blood, bone, connective tissue, etc See also ectoderm endoderm

"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

mesoderm Scientific  
/ mĕzə-dûrm′ /
  1. 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.

  2. Compare ectoderm endoderm


Other Word Forms

  • mesodermal adjective
  • mesodermic adjective

Etymology

Origin of mesoderm

First recorded in 1870–75; meso- + -derm

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

With this unprecedented clarity, the team directly observed two key moments in gastrulation: the first epiblast symmetry-breaking event and the emergence of the molecular markers of the primitive streak and mesoderm upon in vitro attachment.

From Science Daily

The research team also found that the new culture system produces cells like extraembryonic mesoderm, which is not yet well characterised in human embryos.

From Science Daily

"The cell clusters we observed are likely lamprey-specific features, as they are not recognizable in the head mesoderm of both hagfish and shark embryos," explains Dr. Onai.

From Science Daily

After gastrulation, the embryo can be thought of as an onion with three layers: the ectoderm, the mesoderm and the endoderm.

From Science Daily

These disks eventually formed the three main cell layers of the body: the endoderm, mesoderm and ectoderm.

From Scientific American