| 释义 |
meso-|ˈmɛsəʊ, ˈmiːsəʊ, ˈmiːzəʊ|
before a vowel sometimes mes-, combining form of Gr. µέσος middle, used in scientific terms of mod. formation, many of which have correlates with pro-, or proto-, and meta-1. The words of this formation that are specially important, or require detailed explanation, are treated in their alphabetical place. Of the others, which are almost innumerable, the following are examples:—ˌmesaorˈtitis (also mesoaortitis) Med., inflammation of the middle layer of the aorta. mesaˈxonic a. Zool. [Gr. ἄξων, ἀξον- axis], of the feet of certain ungulate mammals: having the axis in the central toe. meˈsectoderm Embryol. [ad. G. mesektoderm (J. B. Platt 1894, in Archiv f. mikrosk. Anat. XLIII. 913)], (a) that part of the mesenchyme which is derived from ectoderm rather than from mesoderm; (b) (see quot. 1956). meˈsendoderm, meˈsentoderm Embryol. [ad. and a. G. mesentoderm (J. B. Platt 1894, in Archiv f. mikrosk. Anat. XLIII. 913)], (a) that part of the mesenchyme which is derived from endoderm rather than from mesoderm; (b) (see quot. 1957). Meso-Aˈmerica, Mesoamerica [f. Sp. Mesoamérica (P. Kirchhoff in Acta Americana (1943) I. 92)], the central region of America, from northern Mexico to Nicaragua, which was civilized in pre-Spanish times. Meso-Aˈmerican a., of or pertaining to Meso-America; also as n., an inhabitant of Meso-America. mesoaortitis, var. mesaortitis above. ˌmeso-aˈppendix Anat., the fold of peritonæum attached to the vermiform appendix. ‖ mesoarium |-ˈɛərɪəm| Anat. [Gr. ᾠάριον taken as = ovarium], the fold of peritonæum which suspends the ovary; hence mesoarial |-ˈɛərɪəl| a. mesoˈbranchial a. Zool., applied to that lobe of the carapace of a crab which overlies the middle part of the branchial chambers. mesocalˈcaneal a.: see quot. and calcaneal. mesoˈcambrian a. and n., = Middle Cambrian (H. S. Williams Journ. Geol. 1894). mesocamˈphoric a. Chem., the name of a dibasic acid formed by heating a mixture of dextrocamphoric acid and hydrochloric acid (Watts Dict. Chem. 2nd Suppl. 1875, 235). mesochil |ˈmɛsɒkɪl|, ‖ mesochilium |-ˈkɪlɪəm| Bot. [Gr. χεῖλος lip: see -ium], the middle portion of the labellum of an orchid. ‖ mesocœle |ˈmɛsəʊsiːl|, -cœlia |-ˈsiːlɪə| Anat. [Gr. κοιλία cavity, ventricle], the ventricle of the mesencephalon of invertebrates; hence mesocœlian |-ˈsiːlɪən| a., pertaining to this. ˈmesoconch |-kɒŋk|, mesoconchic |-ˈkɒŋkɪk|, -conchous |-ˈkɒŋkəs| adjs. Anthropol. [Gr. κόγχ-ος eye-socket], having orbits of moderate height in relation to their width, as expressed by the orbital index (see quots.); so ˈmesoconchy |-kɒŋkɪ|, the property of being mesoconchic. mesoˈcoracoid Ichthyol. [see coracoid], in some teleostean fishes, a bone situated between and bridging the hypercoracoid and hypocoracoid. mesocuˈneiform Anat. [see cuneiform], the middle cuneiform bone of the tarsus; also mesoˈcuniform (in recent Dicts.). mesocyst |ˈmɛsəʊsɪst| Anat. [see cyst], ‘the double layer of peritonæum attaching the gall-bladder to the liver when the former is completely surrounded by serous membrane’ (Syd. Soc. Lex. 1890). mesodesm |ˈmɛsəʊdɛz(ə)m| Bot. [Gr. δεσµός band]: see quot. ˌmeso-deˈvonian a. and n., = Middle Devonian (H. S. Williams Journ. Geol. 1894). meso-diaˈstolic a., occurring in the middle of the diastole. ˈmesodont a. [Gr. ὀδοντ-, ὀδούς tooth], (a) Anthropology, having the teeth of medium size; (b) Ent. of Coleoptera, having the mandibles of medium size. mesoˈdorsal a. Zool., situated on the middle of the back. ‖ mesoduoˈdenum Anat., the fold of peritonæum that supports the duodenum (Cent. Dict. 1890); hence mesoduoˈdenal a. ˈmesoform Physical Chem. = mesophase below. mesogenous |mɛˈsɒdʒɪnəs| a. [see -gen and -ous], increasing by growth at or from the middle, as the spores of certain fungi (Cent. Dict.). ‖ mesoglœa |-ˈgliːə| Zool. [Gr. γλοία glue], the mesodermal layer in sponges and other Cœlenterata; hence mesoˈglœal a. ‖ mesogluˈtæus, the middle gluteal muscle, glutæus medius (Cent. Dict.); hence mesoglutæal |-gluːˈtiːəl| a. mesognathic |-ˈgnæθɪk|, mesognathous |mɛˈsɒgnəθəs| adjs. Anthropology [Gr. γνάθος jaw], applied to those skulls the gnathic index of which ranges between 98 and 103. Hence meˈsognathism (Syd. Soc. Lex.), meˈsognathy (Cent. Dict.), the condition of being mesognathous. ‖ mesoˈhepar [see hepar], ‘a fold of peritonæum attached to the free edge of the right lobe of the liver in many animals’ (Syd. Soc. Lex.). ‖ mesohepaticon [Gr. ἡπατικός hepatic] = prec. ‖ mesohippus |-ˈhɪpəs| Palæont. [Gr. ἵππος horse], one of the ancestral forms of the horse, the remains of which are found in the Lower Miocene. mesoˈkurtic a. Statistics [Gr. κύρτ-ος bulging], applied to (a graph of) a frequency distribution having the same kurtosis as the normal distribution; hence mesokurˈtosis [kurtosis], the property of being mesokurtic. mesolobe |ˈmɛsəʊləʊb| Anat. [lobe], the corpus callosum of the brain; hence mesolobar |mɛsəʊˈləʊbə(r)| a. mesomere |ˈmɛsəʊmɪə(r)| Zool. [Gr. µέρος part], (a) a protovertebra (Syd. Soc. Lex.); (b) a blastomere of medium size (Webster Suppl. 1902). mesomeristem |-ˈmɛrɪstɛm| Bot. [see meristem], the innermost layer of the exomeristem. ˌmesoˈmetatarse Anat. [see metatarsus], the middle metatarsal bone. ‖ mesometritis |-mɪˈtraɪtɪs| Path. [see -itis], inflammation of the ‖ mesometrium |-ˈmɛtrɪəm| or mesometry |mɛˈsɒmɪtrɪ| Anat. [Gr. µήτρα womb], the fold of peritonæum supporting the uterus or (in birds) the oviduct. mesoˈnasal a. Anat. [see nasal], belonging or relating to the middle of the nose. mesonemertine |-nɪˈmɜːrtaɪn| a. [generic name Nemertes], belonging to the Mesonemertini, a division of the Vermes intermediate between the Protonemertini and Metanemertini. mesonotum |-ˈnəʊtəm| Ent. [Gr. νῶτον back], the dorsal portion of the mesothorax; hence mesonotal |-ˈnəʊtəl| a. mesoˈparaffin Chem., one of a class of paraffins intermediate between the isoparaffins and the neoparaffins. ‖ mesopaˈrapteron Ent. [see parapterum], the parapteron of the mesothorax; hence mesopaˈrapteral a. (Cent. Dict.). ˈmesopause, the boundary between the mesosphere and the thermosphere, at an altitude of about 80 km. (50 miles), where the temperature stops decreasing with height and starts to increase. ˈmesophase Physical Chem. [a. G. mesophase (Zocher & Birstein 1929, in Zeitschr. f. physikal. Chem. A. CXLI. 415)], a mesomorphic phase. mesoˈphilic a. Biol. [-philic], (of an organism, esp. a bacterium) flourishing at moderate temperatures; so ˈmesophile, a mesophilic organism. ‖ ˌmesophleˈbitis Path. [Gr. ϕλέψ, ϕλεβ- vein], inflammation of the middle coat of a vein. mesopic |mɛˈsɒpɪk| a. Anthropology [Gr. ὤψ, ὠπ- face], see quot. ‖ mesoˈplankton Biol., the plankton living between about a hundred fathoms from the bottom and a hundred from the surface; hence mesoplankˈtonic a. mesoplast |ˈmɛsəʊplæst| Biol. [Gr. πλαστ-ός moulded], the nuclear matter of a cell (Ogilvie 1882); hence mesoˈplastic a., relating to the mesoplast (Cent. Dict.). ‖ mesoplastron |-ˈplæstrɒn| Zool. [see plastron], an inclusive name for two parts of the plastron that are developed in certain tortoises; hence mesoˈplastral a. ‖ mesopleuron |-ˈplʊərɒn|, pl. -pleura Ent. [Gr. πλευρόν rib], one of the pleura of the mesothorax; hence mesoˈpleural a. ‖ mesorchium |-ˈɔːkɪəm| Anat. [Gr. ὄρχις testicle], the fold of peritonæum which supports the genital gland in some animals; hence meˈsorchial a. ‖ mesoˈrectum Anat., the fold of peritonæum which supports the rectum; hence mesoˈrectal a. (in recent Dicts.). mesoˈretina Anat., the mosaic layer of the retina. mesorostral |-ˈrɒstrəl| a. Zool. [rostrum], in the cetaceous genus Mesoplodon or Ziphius: see quot. mesoˈsalpinx Anat. [salpinx 2], an upper fold of each of the broad ligaments of the uterus which contains and supports the Fallopian tube. mesoˈsaprobe, mesosaˈprobic adjs. [ad. G. mesosaprobe (Kolkwitz & Marsson 1908, in Ber. Deutsch. Bot. Ges. XXVI. 507): see saprobe], of running water: partially polluted. ˈmesoscaph(e [ad. F. mésoscaphe (J. Piccard): cf. bathyscaphe], a submersible vessel designed for exploration of the sea at moderate depths. ‖ mesoscapula |-ˈskæpjʊlə| Anat., the spine of the scapula; hence mesoˈscapular a. mesoˈscopic a. Geol. [after micro-, macroscopic], large enough for examination with the naked eye but small enough for examination as a single entity. ‖ mesoscuˈtellum Ent. [scutellum], the smaller and posterior part of the notum of an insect; hence mesoscuˈtellar a. ‖ mesoˈscutum Ent. [scutum], the larger and anterior part of the notum of an insect. mesoseismal |-ˈsaɪzməl| a. [Gr. σεισµός earthquake], pertaining to the centre of intensity of an earthquake. ˈmesosphere, the layer of the earth's atmosphere between the stratopause below and the mesopause above; hence mesoˈspheric a. mesostaphyline |-ˈstæfɪlaɪn| a. [Gr. σταϕυλή uvula], having a palatal index of from 80 to 85 (Syd. Soc. Lex.). mesostasis |mɛˈsɒstəsɪs| Min. [Gr. στάσις placing], the interstitial substance of rocks that are partly amorphous and partly crystalline. mesostate |ˈmɛsəʊsteɪt|: see quot. ‖ mesostethium |-ˈstiːθɪəm| Ent. [Gr. στηθίον, στῆθος breast]: see quot. mesostome |ˈmɛsəʊstəʊm| Zool. [Gr. στόµα mouth], a planarian of the genus Mesotoma. mesostylous |-ˈstaɪləs| a. Bot. [style], applied to flowers that have styles intermediate in length between the macrostylous and the microstylous. mesosuchian |-ˈsjuːkɪən| a. Zool. [Gr. σοῦχος crocodile], belonging to the extinct suborder Mesosuchia of crocodiles; n. a crocodile of this suborder; also mesoˈsuchious a. (in recent Dicts.). mesosyˈstolic a. Path., occurring in the middle of the systole. ‖ mesotarsus Ent., the tarsus of the middle leg of an insect; cf. protarsus, metatarsus: hence mesoˈtarsal a. (in recent Dicts.). mesotarˈtaric a. Chem., inactive tartaric acid. mesotheca |-ˈθiːkə|, -theque |-θiːk| Zool. [Gr. θήκη case], the middle one of the three laminæ of the perigonium in Hydrozoa. ‖ mesothecium Bot. [thecium], (a) the intermediate layer of cells in an unripe anther (Cassell's Encycl. Dict.); (b) the thecium of lichens (Jackson Gloss. Bot. Terms 1900). ‖ Mesotherium |-ˈθɪərɪəm| Palæont. [Gr. θηρίον wild beast], a genus of fossil rodents of South America; a rodent of this genus. mesoˈthermal a. Petrol., of, pertaining to, or designating mineral and ore deposits formed by hydrothermal action at intermediate temperature and pressure. mesotymˈpanic Ichthyol. [tympanic] = symplectic. meso-ˈuterine a. Anat., the epithet of the fold of peritonæum supporting the uterus. ‖ mesovarium |mɛsəʊˈvɛərɪəm| Anat. [L. ōvarium ovary] = mesoarium. ‖ mesovenˈtriculum Anat., ‘the gastro-hepatic omentum’ (Syd. Soc. Lex.).
1909Cent. Dict. Suppl., *Mesaortitis. 1910Practitioner Apr. 422 A large proportion of all cases of aneurysm in young and middle-aged men are due to a syphilitic mesaortitis. 1962Lancet 28 Apr. 889/2 The response to the mesoaortitis of syphilis is primarily an endarteritis.
1898A. S. Woodward Outl. Vertebr. Palæont. 319 They [sc. Perissodactyla] are all digitigrade quadrupeds, with the axis of both feet passing through the digit No. iii (hence *mesaxonic). 1933A. S. Romer Vertebr. Paleont. xvi. 300 In the majority of ungulates..the third toe was the longest, and the axis of symmetry of the foot lies through this digit (mesaxonic). 1974Nature 8 Mar. 174/2 In the development of a mesaxonic foot perissodactyls have reduced the astragalo-cuboid contact.
1894Jrnl. R. Microsc. Soc. 544 Miss J. B. Platt has studied the ontogenetic differentiation of the ectoderm in Necturus. The ‘mesoderm’ in the head is differentiated by the yolk spherules which it contains into two sharply separable layers—*mesectoderm and mesendoderm. 1921Jrnl. Compar. Neurol. XXXIII. 4 In 1894 Miss Platt elaborated the idea..introducing the terms mesectoderm and mesentoderm for mesenchyme derived from the ectoderm and endoderm, respectively. 1938Nature 23 Apr. 754/1 The mesectoderm..normally migrates ventrally over the mesentoderm. 1956C. H. Waddington Princ. Embryol. xii. 256 ‘Mesectoderm’..is also used for the epiblast of a blastoderm before the mesoderm has invaginated and thus become separated from the ectoderm. 1965L. B. Arey Developmental Anat. (ed. 7) ii. 22 Mesenchyme is predominantly derived from the mesoderm,..but some of it comes from the ectoderm and this contribution is often called mesectoderm.
1894*Mesendoderm [see mesectoderm above]. 1964H. W. Manner Elem. Compar. Vertebr. Embryol. v. 50 The morphological result of this invagination [of the blastula] is a cup-like structure, composed of two layers of cells, an outer ectoderm and an inner mesendoderm, so called because it contains the presumptive material for both the mesoderm and endoderm.
1921,1938*Mesentoderm [see mesectoderm above]. 1957Dorland's Med. Dict. (ed. 23) 818/2 Mesentoderm, the inner layer of an amphibian gastrula not yet separated into mesoderm and entoderm.
1948A. L. Kroeber Anthropol. (rev. ed.) xviii. 793 We have seen that native *Meso-America..consisted of most of what now is Mexico and of Guatemala and that it constituted the North American half of prehistoric Nuclear America. 1952tr. P. Kirchhoff's Mesoamerica in S. Tax Heritage of Conquest 23 We include these tribes in Mesoamerica, because of the very considerable number of..Mesoamerican cultural traits. 1967L. Deuel Conquistadors without Swords xv. 189 The close parallels between the formative cultures of Mesoamerica and the Central Andes became evident. 1974Encycl. Brit. Macropædia XI. 934/2 About half of Mexico; all of Guatemala, British Honduras, and El Salvador; and parts of Honduras and Costa Rica are included in Meso-America.
1948A. L. Kroeber Anthropol. (rev. ed.) xviii. 786 The term ‘South Mexican–Central American’ would..be more accurate..but it is cumbersome; and *Meso-American has been suggested and employed as a convenient coinage that runs no risk of being confused. 1956R. Redfield Peasant Society & Culture 74 Those Meso-American peoples. 1965Canad. Jrnl. Ling. Spring 101 Jicaque, a Mesoamerican language. 1967L. Deuel Conquistadors without Swords xv. 189 Its importance as a prototype of Mesoamerican architecture may well be compared to the step pyramid of Zoser in early dynastic Egypt. 1969J. Mander Static Society ii. 83 What is true of the Aztecs is true of the Meso-American and Andean civilisations. 1974Encycl. Brit. Macropædia XI. 935/1 The only linguistic groups that played any great part in Meso-American civilization were the Mixtec and Zapotec. Ibid., The Meso-Americans reached stages of development unknown away from those areas.
1897Allbutt's Syst. Med. III. 880 The *meso-appendix.
1875Huxley in Encycl. Brit. I. 768/2 The *mesoarial and mesorchial folds of the peritoneum.
1846Owen Vertebr. Anim. i. Fishes 288 In the young Lamprey the ovarium is a..membranous plate, suspended by a fold of the peritoneum (*mesoarium).
1877Huxley Anat. Inv. Anim. vi. 343 The branchial region is sub-divided into epibranchial, *mesobranchial, and metabranchial lobes.
1854Owen Skel. & Teeth in Circ. Sci. I. Org. Nat. 225 There are three calcaneal processes; one, called the ‘entocalcaneal’,..a second, called the ‘*mesocalcaneal’.
1866Treas. Bot., *Mesochil, Mesochilium.
1849Balfour Man. Bot. §1058 This labellum [in Orchidaceæ]..is sometimes divided by contraction, so as to exhibit three distinct portions, the lowest being the hypochilium..the middle, *mesochilium..and the upper, epichilium.
1884T. J. Parker Zootomy 23 They contain a cavity, the aqueduct of Sylvius, or *mesocœle.
1887Wilder in Amer. Nat. XXI. 914 Mammalia—Mesocœle tubular; *mesocœlian roof quadrilobate.
1909Cent. Dict. Suppl., *Mesoconch. 1920H. H. Wilder Lab. Man. Anthropometry i. 67 Chamaeconch..below 76. Mesoconch..76–85. 1960M. F. A. Montagu Introd. Physical Anthropol. (ed. 3) 606 Mesoconch..[Orbital index of] 76·0–84·9.
1909Cent. Dict. Suppl., *Mesoconchic. 1960J. Comas Man. Physical Anthrop. vii. 409 Mesoconchic..[an orbital index of] 83·0 to 88·9.
1885Jrnl. R. Anthrop. Inst. XIV. 71 *Mesokonchous..[orbital index of] 80·1 to 85·0.
1904Biometrika III. 214 (table) *Mesoconchy.
1868W. K. Parker Shoulder-girdle Vertebr. 8 The middle bar, which underprops the middle glenoid facet, is the ‘*meso-coracoid’. Ibid. 152 A short curved meso-coracoid process.
1854Owen Skel. & Teeth in Circ. Sci. I. Org. Nat. 244 The small bone, called ‘splint-bone’..articulated to the ‘*mesocuneiform’.
1898Allbutt's Syst. Med. V. 1018 Mid-diastolic or *meso-diastolic murmur.
1884Flower in Jrnl. Anthrop. Inst. XIV. 186 *Mesodont Races. Chinese, American Indians [etc.]. 1890Syd. Soc. Lex., Mesodont, a term applied to those skulls in which the product of the division of the length of the crowns of the molar and bicuspid teeth multiplied by 100, by the basin[as]al length, lies between 42 and 44. 1899D. Sharp Insects ii. (Camb. Nat. Hist.) 193 Mesodont.
1871Phillips Geol. Oxford 178 These are usually *mesodorsal spines.
1933Trans. Faraday Soc. XXIX. 1008 For a *mesoform to appear, it is necessary for these [binding] forces to persist in either one or two dimensions after loosening of the third. 1946Thorpe's Dict. Appl. Chem. (ed. 4) VII. 350/2 Some substances show only one of these mesophases; some show both, in which case the smectic is always the lower-temperature form. The matter is somewhat complicated, however, by the existence of substances which show three, four, and even five mesoforms.
1886Proc. Zool. Soc. 574 Silicea with soft *mesoglœa or mesodermal ground substance.
1889Geddes & Thomson Evol. Sex 90 The ova [of sponges] are highly nourished *mesoglœal cells.
1891Cunningham in Trans. R. Irish. Acad. XXIX. 581 The *mesognathic class.
1878Flower in Proc. Roy. Inst. VIII. 615 When the latter dimension [sc. basi-alveolar length] exceeds the former [sc. basi-nasal length], the face is said to be prognathous; when the reverse is the case, it is orthognathous; when the two dimensions are equal or thereabouts, it is *mesognathous.
1884T. J. Parker Zootomy 391 *Mesohepar.
1905Rolleston Dis. Liver 24 The connective tissue uniting the right lobe of the liver to the diaphragm (the *mesohepaticon).
1877Le Conte Elem. Geol. ii. (1879) 509 Next came [after Eohippus and Orohippus] in the Lower Miocene the *Mesohippus.
1905*Mesokurtic [see leptokurtic a.]. 1972R. B. Cain Elem. Statistical Concepts xix. 159 Any curve which has the same degree of kurtosis as the standard normal curve is said to be mesokurtic.
1905K. Pearson in Biometrika IV. 173 The *mesokurtosis of the Gaussian curve is not a universal characteristic of frequency distributions. 1943M. G. Kendall Adv. Theory Statistics I. v. 129 [For the normal distribution] we also have β2 = 3, γ2 = 0, which accounts for the standard adopted for mesokurtosis.
1855Dunglison Med. Lex., *Mesolobar, belonging to the Mesolobe or Corpus callosum. Mesolobar Arteries,..are the arteries of the corpus callosum. *Mesolobe, corpus callosum. 1884*Mesomeristem [see perimeristem].
1890Syd. Soc. Lex., *Mesometritis.
1835–6Todd's Cycl. Anat. I. 357/2 The oviduct..is attached to and supported by a duplicature of peritoneum called the *mesometrium.
Ibid., The *mesometry differs most from the mesentery when the female organs are in full sexual action.
1868W. K. Parker Shoulder-girdle Vertebr. 24 On the head may be seen the quasi-ethmoid or *meso-nasal; two nasals [etc.]. 1890Syd. Soc. Lex., Mesonasal cavity, a blind membranous pouch, situated in the diverging angle of the posterior forks of the internasal cartilage in the developing salmon.
1902A. E. Shipley in Encycl. Brit. XXXI. 120/2 The *Mesonemertine and one or two aberrant species.
1836Shuckard tr. Burmeister's Man. Entom. 78 The *mesonotum.
1876Odling in Lond. etc. Phil. Mag. Mar. 206 *Mesoparaffins.
1950S. Chapman in Jrnl. Atmospheric & Terrestrial Physics I. 121 The..upper boundary..would be the stratopause, and the mesosphere would extend from this level to the *mesopause. 1963New Scientist 25 July 169/2 At a height of some fifty miles there is a sudden drop in the temperature of the atmosphere from freezing point to about -80°C. It is here, in the ‘mesopause’, that the so-called ‘noctilucent’ clouds occur. 1972Nature 28 Jan. 215/1 A sounding rocket was launched..chiefly to study the ion composition around the cold summer mesopause.
1929Brit. Chem. Abstr. A. 870/1 *Mesophases occupy an intermediate position between crystals and purely amorphous substances. 1937O. B. Darbishire tr. A. von Buzágh's Colloid Syst. vii. 135 Mesophases only show a symmetrical arrangement in certain given directions, and not in all three directions of space. 1972Physics Bull. May 279/1 The characteristic anisotropy of the mesophase is now known to result from the strong tendency of the constituent molecules to lie with their long axes parallel.
1928P. H. Foster in C. M. Hilliard Text-bk. Bacteriol. viii. 95 *Mesophiles..may be further subdivided to distinguish organisms which have as their optimum temperature 37°C..and those growing best below this, usually between 20° and 30°C. 1969New Scientist 27 Nov. 450/2 Mesophiles (organisms with a maximum temperature for growth of 37°C and a minimum less than 20°C) multiply rapidly.
1897Lehmann & Neumann Atlas & Essent. Bacteriol. 98 *Mesophilic bacteria: minimum at 10°–15°, best at 37°, maximum at about 45°. 1964New Scientist 12 Nov. 445/2 The method of the Microalgae Research Institute is to separate its algal strains into high-temperature or ‘thermophilic’, normal temperature or ‘mesophilic’, and low-temperature or ‘psychrophilic’ varieties.
1875Jones & Siev. Pathol. Anat. 400 The *mesophlebitis and periphlebitis of Virchow.
1885O. Thomas in Jrnl. Anthrop. Inst. XIV. 334 Individual skulls or races having indices above 107·5 might be called platyopic or flat-faced; from 107·5 to 110·0, *mesopic.
1898G. H. Fowler in Proc. Zool. Soc. 575 Prof. Agassiz..refuses to accept the alleged existence of a *mesoplankton.
Ibid. 1029 The supposition that Globigerina pachyderma is a *mesoplanktonic form.
1889Nature 2 May 7/1 In the Pleurodira the first two families are distinguished from one another by the presence or absence of a *mesoplastral bone.
1848Maunder Treas. Nat. Hist. 794 *Mesopleura, the lateral surfaces of the mesothorax. 1875*Mesorchial [see Mesoarial above].
1855Dunglison Med. Lex., *Mesorchium. 1875Huxley & Martin Elem. Biol. (1877) 183 A sort of testicular mesentery or mesorchium.
1835–6Todd's Cycl. Anat. I. 506/1 Along the posterior wall we find the rectum with its *mesorectum.
1889J. Leidy Anat. (ed. 2) 877 The processes of the pigment-cells of the ectoretina extend between the rods of the *meso⁓retina.
1872Sir W. Turner in Trans. Roy. Soc. Edinb. XXVI. 768, I have named the dense solid bar in the middle of the beak the *meso-rostral bone.
1890Syd. Soc. Lex., *Mesosalpinx, the fine fold of peritonaeum which continues the mesovarium to the Fallopian tube in the foetus. 1901Gray's Anat. (ed. 15) 1013 The Fallopian tube is contained in a special fold of the broad ligament, which is attached to the part of the ligament near the ovary, and is known by the name of the mesosalpinx. 1970L. J. A. DiDio Synopsis Anat. 297/2 The position of the ovarian ligaments divides each broad ligament into an upper mesosalpinx and a lower mesometrium.
1927Glasgow Herald 11 June 4/2 Investigators distinguish a..*meso-saprobe zone which carp, tench, sticklebacks, and the like can endure.
1925Bull. Illinois Nat. Hist. Survey XV. 441 The polluted or *mesosaprobic zone represents the next step towards purification of the waters. A variety of higher water-plants may exist..and there may be considerable amounts of dissolved oxygen present. 1970tr. J. Schwoerbel's Methods Hydrobiol. 8 This self cleansing of running water..leads from the poly-saprobic zone through the meso-saprobic zone to the oligo-saprobic zone with only small residues of pollution.
1955Britannica Bk. of Year 490/1 *Mesoscaphe, an underwater helicopter designed by Auguste Piccard. 1963Observer 13 Jan. 14/4 The mesoscaphe, a cylindrical steel shell sealed at each end, will be lighter than water even when fully loaded with passengers. 1969New Scientist 19 June 626/1 The submersible..is a direct descendant of the Auguste Piccard—the ‘mesoscaph’ that, carrying 40 passengers at a time, gave thousands of visitors..a glimpse of the depths of Lake Geneva. 1973Times Lit. Suppl. 13 July 815/4 Twenty years ago Auguste Piccard..conceived the idea of a mesoscaphe or exploratory vessel that could operate at intermediate depths. In 1964 his son Jacques..launched the first mesoscaphe.
1868W. K. Parker Shoulder-girdle Vertebr. 11 The præ-scapula and *meso-scapula in one half-cleft ray.
Ibid. 27 A scapular, a *meso-scapular, and a præ-scapular bar.
1957Weiss & McIntyre in Jrnl. Geol. LXV. 577/2 The different kinds of *mesoscopic structures found in the area. [Note] The use of the terms ‘microscopic’, ‘mesoscopic’, and ‘macroscopic’ in this paper accords with the definitions suggested elsewhere by one of the writers (Weiss, 1957 [= ‘at press’: published 1958]), as follows:..2. Mesoscopic: This covers fields ranging in size from a single hand specimen to a single continuous exposure (generally, but not always, of small size) in which data can be measured with sufficient accuracy and continuity to allow determination of its over-all structural geometry. 1965G. J. Williams Econ. Geol. N.Z. vi. 66/1 Grindley (1963) noted that post-metamorphic folding in southern Westland was accompanied by axial-plane cleavage on mesoscopic shear folds. 1969Nature 22 Nov. 827/1 Attention is to be confined to structures on what is called the mesoscopic scale, that is, visible in anything between hand specimen and outcrop.
1899D. Sharp Insects ii. (Camb. Nat. Hist.) 312 In some of the higher forms this *meso-scutellar lobe is prominent.
1833Entomologist's Mag. I. 28 The *meso-scutellum has a yellow margin, interrupted toward the base.
1883Johnston-Lavis in Nature 6 Sept. 438/2 Most people not in the *mesoseismal area felt first the ‘susultatorio’ or vertical movement.
1950S. Chapman in Jrnl. Atmospheric & Terrestrial Physics I. 121, I propose the name *mesosphere for the layer between the top of the stratosphere and the major minimum of temperature existing somewhere below 100 km. 1961New Scientist 30 Nov. 568/3 Winds at heights of 80 to 100 km in the Earth's atmosphere—in the so-called mesosphere. 1973Physics Bull. Dec. 727/1 The fifth experiment aboard Concorde concerned emission from the stratosphere and mesosphere arising from the electronic transition between the metastable 1Δg and the ground 3σ-g states of molecular oxygen.
1960Meteorol. & Geoastrophysical Abstr. XI. 1535 *Mesospheric temperatures. 1972Nature 28 Jan. 194/1 It is, perhaps, of interest to enquire whether the low mesospheric temperatures existing at the time of the flight render the weakly-bound cluster ions more stable.
1888Nature 15 Mar. 459/2 The presence of a hypocrystalline interstitial substance (*mesostasis) wedged in between the felspars.
1885M. Foster in Encycl. Brit. XIX. 19/1 The specific material of a secretion, such as the trypsin of pancreatic juice, comes from the protoplasm of the cell, through a number of intermediate substances, or *mesostates as they are called.
1826Kirby & Sp. Entomol. III. xxxiii. 382 *Mesostethium... A central piece between the intermediate and posterior legs, and bounded laterally in Coleoptera by the Parapleuræ—along the middle of which, where it exists, the Metasternum runs.
1876Beneden's Anim. Parasites 161 In the autumn of 1871, nearly all the *mesostomes perished through the presence of those parasitical organisms.
1887Ward tr. Sachs' Physiol. Plants 790 In addition to those with macrostylous and those with microstylous flowers, there is found also one with *mesostylous flowers.
1886Günther in Encycl. Brit. XX. 466/1 The surviving *Mesosuchian Crocodiles of the Jurassic period.
1898Allbutt's Syst. Med. V. 976 It [a cardiac murmur] is manifested only of the ventricular contraction, and is *meso⁓systolic.
1897Parker & Haswell Text-bk. Zool. II. 366 The ankle-joint of the bird is a *meso-tarsal joint.
1865Watts Dict. Chem. III, *Mesotartaric Acid.
1859Allman in Ann. Nat. Hist. Ser. iii. IV. 140 They [sc. tentacles] surround an orifice in the *mesotheque. 1871― Gymnobl. Hydroids Introd. 15 Mesotheca.
1876Alston in Proc. Zool. Soc. 98 Fossil genus:— *Mesotherium. 1883Flower in Encycl. Brit. XV. 372/2 The extinct South American Mesotherium, half Rodent and half Ungulate.
1922,1969*Mesothermal [see hypothermal adj. c s.v. hypo- II].
1846Owen Vertebr. Anim. i. Fishes v. 110 The stylo-hyoid being attached near the junction of the epi-tympanic with the *meso-tympanic.
1876tr. Wagner's Gen. Pathol. 339 The..*meso-uterine folds of the peritoneum.
1890Syd. Soc. Lex., *Mesovarium.
2. Chem. (Often italic.)
a. [app. first used in mesotartaric.] As an inseparable formative element in chem. names denoting the meso isomer (see below), as meso-erythritol, meso-inositol; mesotartaric adj. (see above).
1936Chem. Abstr. XXX. 7625 While meso-inositol can serve as a part of the bios complex, it has never been isolated from yeast. 1937F. C. Whitmore Org. Chem. 385 Since the liquid 1,4-dibromide gives meso-erythritol it must be the cis form of configuration (A). 1968I. L. Finar Org. Chem. (ed. 4) II. vii. 231 On oxidation, d-erythrose gives meso-tartaric, and on reduction gives meso-erythritol. 1971Biochim. & Biophys. Acta CCXLI. 204 Pea chloroplasts are also impermeable to the six-carbon cyclic polyhydroxy alcohol, meso-inositol.
b. Used as quasi-adj. (either as a separate word, usu. attrib., or joined by a hyphen to a following n.) to denote an isomer which has one or more pairs of enantiomorphic structural units so arranged that the molecule as a whole is optically inactive; as meso form, meso isomer.
1896Jrnl. Chem. Soc. LXX. i. 412 It is impossible to say which is the racemic acid and which the meso-form. 1907J. B. Cohen Org. Chem. Adv. Students I. ii. 94 Ordinary inositol from beans and flesh is a meso compound. 1937F. C. Whitmore Org. Chem. 53 These are stereo-isomers of the same type as the tartaric acids, one being meso and the other racemic. Ibid. 371 Usually the meso-form can be separated from the dl-form by patient application of fractionation. 1956Nature 11 Feb. 281/1 When it [sc. the filtrate] was acidified..the meso-isomer precipitated. 1968R. O. C. Norman Princ. Org. Synthesis v. 154 As with other examples of diastereoisomers, the properties of meso forms are different from those of the isomeric mirror-image pairs.
Add: mesoˈlimbic a. Anat., situated in or designating the middle of the limbic system of the brain.
1971Acta Physiol. Scand. Suppl. CCCLXVII. 1 The course of the nigro-striatal and the *meso-limbic DA pathways is presented in detail. 1973Psychopharmacologia XXXII. 167 Neuroleptic agents have been shown to increase the turnover of dopamine in the mesolimbic brain areas in a very similar manner to their effects on the extrapyramidal system. 1978Nature 7 Dec. 618/1 It is proposed that the substance P innervation of the VTA is part of a descending feedback loop which modulates the mesolimbic and mesocortical dopaminergic systems.
mesosphere n. (b) Geol., the inner layer of the earth's mantle.
1939in B. Gutenberg Internal Constitution of Earth v. 92 There would be some advantage in using the terms kentrosphere for the core or nucleus, mesosphere for the intermediate shell and perisphere for the uppermost layer or crust. 1968Jrnl. Geophysical Res. LXXIII. 5856/2 The lithosphere and the mesosphere have relatively high seismic velocities and propagate seismic waves without great attenuation. 1971I. G. Gass et al. Understanding Earth xvi. 248 (caption) The lithosphere and mesosphere are thought to have appreciable strength. 1980Nature 14 Feb. 636/2 These heterogeneities may result from original regional heterogeneities in the mesosphere if the plumes are derived from the mesosphere.
mesospheric a. (earlier and later examples).
1940R. A. Daly Strength & Struct. of the Earth xii. 355 The strength of the sub-asthenospheric shell and an assumed deviation of its surface from the shape of a rotation-spheroid will be given hypothetical explanation. For this layer we have Washington's convenient name ‘mesosphere’ or, better, ‘mesospheric shell’—a coinage more logically conceived than the older synonym ‘centrospheric shell’. 1980Nature 14 Feb. 636/2 These heterogeneities may result..from mixing of mesospheric (lower mantle) and upper mantle components. |