presternaladj.
/ˌpriːˈstəːnl/, U.S. /priˈstərn(ə)l/ 1. Anatomy and Zoology. Of or relating to the presternum (presternum n. 2) (now rare); situated anterior or superior to the sternum.
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1885 Amer. Naturalist 19 200 He can trace the presternal muscle, which in three or four per cent of the human subjects that have been dissected is present.
1912 Amer. Anthropologist 14 625 Measured with sliding compass from the lowest point of the presternal notch to the base of the xiphoid appendix.
1976 Amer. Jrnl. Dis. Children 130 418 (caption) Swelling of the face and neck and presternal edema in patient with mumps.
2003 Jrnl. Laparoendoscopic & Adv. Surg. Techniques: A 13 131 The presternal catheter was designed for patients who would not ordinarily be considered for peritoneal dialysis because of body habitus.
2. Entomology.† a. = prosternal adj. Obsolete. rare.Apparently only attested in dictionaries or glossaries.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > parts of insects > [adjective] > of thorax > of or relating to prothorax > of or relating to prosternum
prosternal1850
presternal1890
1890 Cent. Dict. Presternal, same as prosternal.
b. Situated anterior to the sternum of an insect's segment; spec. of or relating to a presternum (presternum n. 1b).
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1909 Ann. Entomol. Soc. Amer. 2 188 Lithobius tivius... Presternal teeth..moderately large and distinct, darkened.
1946 Amer. Midland Naturalist 35 235 Presternal sclerites of all three thoracic segments free from the basisternum.
1999 Proc. Royal Soc. B. 266 1165/2 Responses from other sense organs than the presternal organ might have been recorded as well.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1885