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pronephros

American  
[proh-nef-ros, -ruhs] / proʊˈnɛf rɒs, -rəs /

noun

Embryology.

plural

pronephroi, pronephra

  1. one of the three embryonic excretory organs of vertebrates, which becomes the functional kidney of certain primitive fishes.

pronephros British  
/ prəʊˈnɛfrɒs /

noun

  1. the first-formed anterior part of the embryonic kidney in vertebrates, which remains functional in the larvae of the lower vertebrates See also mesonephros metanephros

"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

Other Word Forms

  • pronephric adjective

Etymology

Origin of pronephros

1875–80; < New Latin < Greek pro- pro- 2 + nephrós kidney

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.

The anterior part of the kidney, called the pronephros, disappears in the later larval stages.

From Text Book of Biology, Part 1: Vertebrata by Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)

There is no trace of a pronephros at all in the rabbit.

From Text Book of Biology, Part 1: Vertebrata by Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)

Definitions 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.