metasternaladj.n.
/ˌmɛtəˈstəːnl/, U.S. /ˌmɛdəˈstərn(ə)l/ A. adj.
1. Entomology. Of or relating to the metasternum (sense 1).
ΚΠ
1826 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. III. xxxv. 579 The Tettigoniæ F. have usually a distinct metasternal point between their hind-legs.
1873 Le Conte Classif. Lepidoptera N. Amer. ii. 312 Metasternal pores distinct.
1907 Amer. Naturalist 41 484 We have first, the prosternal process stretching beyond the mesosternum to be received in a metasternal groove.
1952 Ecology 33 99/1 In adult Melanoplus bivittatus (Say) having a metasternal width of 8 mm., the temperature difference between the two sides varied between 3.4 and 4.7° C.
1981 Ann. Entomol. Soc. Amer. 74 232/1 Unlike the species-variable propodal carinae, the metasternal carinae appear to be stable structural characters.
1995 Med. & Vet. Entomol. 9 403 No volatile products were detected in the metasternal glands.
2. Zoology and Anatomy. Of or relating to the metasternum (sense 2). Now disused.
ΚΠ
1868 W. K. Parker Monogr. Struct. & Devel. Shoulder-girdle & Sternum Vertebrata 123 The little ‘metasternal’ plate is wedge-like.
1896 Amer. Naturalist 30 745 The fossil sternum appears to lack a metasternal region.
1908 Proc. Royal Soc. B. 80 183 I have taken the meso-metasternal articulation, i.e., junction between gladiolus and ensiform, as the basis from which to measure.
B. n.† 1. Zoology and Anatomy. = metasternum n. 2. Obsolete. rare.
ΚΠ
1868 W. K. Parker Monogr. Struct. & Devel. Shoulder-girdle & Sternum Vertebrata 121 These plates are rudimentary ‘meta-sternals’.
2. Entomology. A metasternal gland. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > secretory organs > gland > types of gland > [noun]
miliary gland1691
mucilaginous gland1691
mucous gland1699
acinus1702
crypta1726
glandule1751
crypt1804
globate gland1813
ganglion1819
submaxillary1824
lacrimal1829
germ gland1840
sweat-gland1845
ductless glands1849
lymph node1892
metasternal1965
1965 Science 17 Sept. 1343/1 The most conspicuous of these [exocrine glands of ants] are the mandibularies and salivaries, opening in the head, the metasternals in the thorax, and the complex of glands..in the gaster.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1826