metanephros

[met-uh-nef-ros]

noun, plural met·a·neph·roi [met-uh-nef-roi] /ˌmɛt əˈnɛf rɔɪ/. Embryology.

one of the three embryonic excretory organs of higher vertebrates, becoming the permanent and functional kidney.

Nearby words

Compare mesonephros, pronephros.

Origin of metanephros

1875–80; < New Latin < Greek meta- meta- + nephrós kidney

Related formsmet·a·neph·ric, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for metanephros

The ureter which carries off the secretion of the kidney proper or metanephros.
The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume III (of 4)|Francis Maitland Balfour
The differentiation of a posterior section of the mesonephros into a special gland foreshadowing the metanephros of the Amniota.
The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume III (of 4)|Francis Maitland Balfour
The mode of development of the metanephros has as yet only been satisfactorily elucidated in the Chick (Sedgwick, No. 549).
The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume III (of 4)|Francis Maitland Balfour

British Dictionary definitions for metanephros

metanephros

noun plural -roi (-rɔɪ)

the last-formed posterior part of the embryonic kidney in reptiles, birds, and mammals, which remains functional in the adultSee also pronephros, mesonephros

Word Origin for metanephros

C19: New Latin, from meta- + Greek nephros kidney

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

Medicine definitions for metanephros

metanephros

[mĕt′ə-nĕf′rəs, -rŏs′]

n. pl. met•a•neph•roi (-roi′)

The third and final excretory organ that develops in a vertebrate embryo. In birds, reptiles, and mammals it replaces the mesonephros as the functional excretory organ and develops into the adult kidney.

Related formsmet′a•neph′ric (-rĭk) adj.