mesoderm
Americannoun
noun
-
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.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of mesoderm
Compare meaning
How does mesoderm compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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.
Talbot noted that healthy embryonic development depends on stem cells forming all three primary cell types: endoderm, ectoderm and mesoderm.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026
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 ● Mar. 23, 2024
Moreover, the experiments provide evidence that the vertebrate head mesoderm diverged during the early phases of vertebrate evolution.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 10, 2024
Annelids show the presence of a true coelom, derived from embryonic mesoderm and protostomy.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
The other side was jagged and broken, for it had been torn from the mesoderm of that tortured mother world.
From Asteroid of Fear by Raymond Z. Gallun
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
