pleurobranchn.
/ˈplʊərə(ʊ)braŋk/, /ˈplɔːrə(ʊ)braŋk/, U.S. /ˈplʊroʊˌbræŋk/ Zoology.
In some crustaceans: a gill attached directly to the body wall of the thorax, above the base of a thoracic appendage. Cf. podobranch n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animal body > general parts > internal organs and systems > [noun] > lung or gill
gilla1325
branchiae1398
lung1889
pleurobranch1892
1892 J. A. Thomson Outl. Zool. xiii. 240 There remain three pleurobranchs, one on the epimeron of the fifth large limb, and two quite rudimentary on the two preceding segments.
1939 T. L. Green Pract. Animal Biol. i. 57 One pleuro-branch is present in segment 13 and vestigial ones may occur in each of the three preceding segments.
1995 P. J. Hayward et al. in P. J. Hayward & J. S. Ryland Handbk. Marine Fauna N.W. Europe viii. 289 In some higher crustaceans, additional respiratory structures (podobranchs and pleurobranchs) are associated with the thoracic limbs.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1892