MES 



261 



MET 



mesosternum, n., mez'-d'Stern'-um 

 (Gr. mesos, middle ; sternon, the 

 breast-bone), the lower half of 

 the middle segment of the thorax 

 in insects ; the middle portion of 

 the sternum intervening between 

 the attachment of the second pair 

 of ribs, and the xiphoid cartilage. 



mesotherms, n. plu., m&'o-tkermz 

 (Gr. mesos, middle ; therme, 

 heat), plants requiring but a 

 moderate degree of heat for their 

 perfect development. 



mesothorax, n., mte'-d-thdr'-clks 

 (Gr. mesos, middle ; thorax, the 

 trunk, the breast), the middle 

 ring of the thorax in insects. 



Mesua, n., mes'-u-d (after Mesue, 

 an ancient Arabian physician and 

 botanist in the eighth century), a 

 genus of trees, Ord. Guttiferae or 

 Clusiacese: Mesuaferrea,/er'r-a 

 (L. ferreus, made of iron from 

 ferrum, iron), a tree producing 

 beautiful orange and sweet-scented 

 flowers which, dried, are esteemed 

 for their fragrance, and used in 

 India in medicine, yields a hard 

 and durable timber. 



metabolic, a., mWdWik (Gr. 

 metdbole, change from meta, 

 beyond ; ballo, 1 throw), pert, to 

 change or affinity ; applied to 

 chemical changes occurring in 

 living bodies : metabolic force, 

 vital affinity. 



metacarpus, n. , met'd-kdrp'us (Gr. 

 meta, beyond ; karpos, the wrist), 

 in anat., that part of the hand 

 situated between the wrist or 

 carpus and the fingers or phal- 

 anges : metacarpal, a. , -kdrp'-dl, 

 pert, to the metacarpus : meta- 

 carpal bones, the five long bones 

 which form the back of the hand 

 externally, and the palm inter- 

 nally : metacarpal phalangeal, 

 fdl'dnj-e'dl(Gr.phalangx, a body 

 of soldiers), pert, to the bones of 

 the hand situated between the 

 wrist and the fingers, so named 

 from their arrangement, 

 metamorphosis, n. 



tis-ls (Gr. metamdrphosis, a trans- 

 formation from meta, beyond, 

 change ; morphe, form, shape), a 

 transformation ; in zool., the 

 change of form which certain 

 animals undergo in passing irom 

 their younger to their fully- 

 grown condition ; in bot. , the 

 change of one organ into another, 

 as petals into stamens, or stamens 

 into pistils sometimes called 

 metamorphy, n., met'-d-mdrf'-i. 



metaphery, n., met-df-er-i (Gr. 

 meta, beyond ; phoreo, I bear), 

 in bot., the displacement of 

 organs. 



metaplasm, n., mZt'-d-plazm (Gr. 

 meta, beyond, change ; plasma, 

 that which has been formed, a 

 model), the matter which gives 

 the granular character to proto- 

 plasm. 



metapodium, n., m$t f >d-pdd'i-um 

 (Gr. meta, beyond, after ; podes, 

 feet), the posterior lobe of the 

 foot in Mollusca. 



metapophysis, n., m%t'd-p8f'iS'is 

 (Gr. meta, beyond ; apophusis, 

 a sprout, a process), the mam- 

 millary processes, according to 

 Owen. 



metasperms, n. plu., met'd-spermz 

 (Gr. meta, beyond ; sperma, seed), 

 in bot., another name for * angio- 

 sperms ' : see under * angiocarp- 

 us.' 



metastasis, n. , mZt'ds'tdS'ZS (Gr. 

 meta, beyond, over ; stasis, a 

 placing or sitting, a posture), a 

 change in the seat of a disease ; 

 in bot., the sum of the changes 

 undergone by the products of 

 assimilation of the cells in plants: 

 metastatic, a., met'-d-stdt-ik, of 

 or belonging to metastasis. 



metastoma, n., met-ds^tdm-d (Gr. 

 meta, beyond ; stdma, a mouth), 

 the plate which closes the mouth 

 posteriorly in the Crustacea. 



metatarsus, n., met'd'tdrs'us (Gr. 

 meta, beyond ; tarsos, the sole of 

 the foot), the bones which lie 

 between the tarsus or ankle and 



