metacromionn.
/ˌmɛtəˈkrəʊmɪɒn/, /ˌmɛtəˈkrəʊmɪən/, U.S. /ˌmɛdəˈkroʊmiˌɑn/, /ˌmɛdəˈkroʊmiən/ Zoology.
In some mammals: a process of the spine of the scapula posterior to the acromion.
ΚΠ
1867 St. G. Mivart in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 157 305 Sometimes the acromion expands, so as to send back a metacromion-like process, before reaching its distal end.
1870 W. H. Flower Introd. Osteol. Mammalia xiv. 226 In the Shrews..the slender acromion ends in two long diverging processes, of which the anterior supports the clavicle, and the posterior is called ‘metacromion’.
1939 T. L. Green Pract. Animal Biol. i. 158 Make a drawing to show the scapular blade with the spine continued into the acromion and metacromion.
1999 Nature 25 Mar. 328/2 It has a peg-like acromion and a low elevation on the spine that resembles the metacromion of Didelphis.
Derivatives
metaˈcromial adj. now rare
ΚΠ
1868 W. K. Parker Monogr. Struct. & Devel. Shoulder-girdle & Sternum Vertebrata 207 The metacromial process.
1870 W. H. Flower Introd. Osteol. Mammalia xiv. 228 The spine and acromion [of the Carnivora] are fairly developed, the latter often with a broad metacromial process.
1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 941/2 On the lower margin of the acromion is a little tubercle known as the metacromial process or acromial angle.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1867