MET 



262 



MIC 



the toes, consisting of five long 

 bones, which corresponds to the 

 ' metacarpus ' of the hand : meta- 

 tarsal, a., met'-d-tdrs'-dl, of or 

 belonging to the metatarsus. 



metathorax, n. , mZt'-d'thdr'-dks (Gr. 

 me ta, beyond ; thorax, the chest), 

 the posterior or hinder ring of 

 the thorax in insects. 



metencephalon, n., met'-en-sef'-dl- 

 6)i (Gr. m$ta, beyond ; engkepli- 

 alon, the brain), the posterior 

 primary vesicle of the brain, com- 

 prising the medulla oblongata, 

 the fourth ventricle, and the 

 auditory nerve. 



xnetria, n., met'ri-d (Gr. metra, 

 the womb), child-bed or puerperal 

 fever : metric, a. , met'rik, of or 

 belonging to the womb : metritis, 

 n., met'Tit'is, inflammation of the 

 womb : metralgia, n. , met-rdl'- 

 ji>d (Gr. algos, pain, grief), also 

 metrodynia, n., met-ro-din^-d 

 (Gr. od-une, pain), pain in the 

 womb : metrophlebitis, n., metf 

 rO'flZb'ltf'is (Gr. phlebs, a vein $ 

 phlebos, of a vein), inflammation 

 of the veins of the womb. 



Metroxylon, n., mefrr8ks'il*6n 

 (Gr. meter, a mother ; xulon, 

 wood), a genus of trees, Ord. 

 Palmae : Metroxylon laBve, letfe 

 (L. Icevis, light), a species pro- 

 ducing fine sago. 



Mezereon, n., ra&s'er-e'flw, see 

 ' Daphnse.' 



miasm, n. , mi-tizm', also miasma, 

 n., mi'dz'ma, more usually in 

 the plu. : miasmata, mi-dz'-rndt-d 

 (Gr. miasma, defilement), infec- 

 tion or pollution in the air arising 

 from diseased, putrifying, or 

 poisonous floating substances : 

 miasmal, a., mi-dz'mdl, contain- 

 ing miasma : miasmatic, a., mi'* 

 dz-mat'ik, pert, to miasma, or 

 containing it. 



micrococcus., n., mik f -rO'kok f >us 

 (Gr. mikros, small ; kokkos, a 

 kernel), any minute form or 

 organism supposed to have life; a 

 genus of the Bacteria, the basis 



of all yeast formations, and the 

 source of fermentations. 



microgonidium, n., mik^ro-gon- 

 id'-i'um (Gr. mikros, small ; 

 gonos, offspring, seed ; eidos, 

 resemblance), in Alga3, a single 

 small zoospore found in a germ- 

 inating cell, formed at the 

 expense of the contained plastic 

 materials. 



micrometer, n., mlk-rtim'-Zt-er 

 (Gr. mikros, small ; metron, a 

 measure), an instrument for 

 measuring microscopic objects. 



microphylline, n., mik^rd-fil- 

 lin (Gr. mikros, small ; phullon, 

 a leaf), a material composed of 

 minute leaflets or scales. 



microphytes, n. plu., mik'ro-fitz 

 (Gr. mikros, small ; phuton, a 

 plant), microscopic plants. 



micropyle, n., mlk'-rd-pil (Gr. 

 mikros, small ; pule, a gate), in 

 bot., the opening or foramen of 

 the ripened seed for the escape of 

 the root of the embryo ; a minute 

 pore. 



microscope, n., mik'ro-skop (Gr. 

 mikros, small ; skopeo, I view), 

 an instrument which enables 

 minute objects, and those in- 

 visible to the naked eye, to be 

 seen distinctly : microscopy, n., 

 mik-rtis'kdp'i, investigations by 

 means of the microscope. 



microsporangia, n., mik'ro-spor- 

 dnfi'd (Gr. mikros, small; spora, 

 seed ; anggos, a vessel), in bot. t 

 cells or thecse containing micro- 

 spores. 



microspores, n. plu., mik'-ro-sporz 

 (Gr. mikros, small; spora, seed), 

 in bot. , small reproductive spores 

 in the capsules of Lycopods ; 

 applied to certain vegetable par- 

 asites present in various cutane- 

 ous affections also in same sense 

 microsporons, n. plu., mik-rds 

 ptir-tinz. 



microsporon furfur, fetffer (see 

 microspore ; L. furfur, bran, 

 scurf), a fungus, consisting of 

 small globular sporules with 



