<B>mesenchyme, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> that portion of the mesoderm, consisting of cells set in a gelatinous matrix, from which the connective tissues, bone, cartilage, vascular system, and lymphatic vessels develop. </DL>
<A NAME="mesenteric">
<B>mesenteric, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with a mesentery. </DL>
<A NAME="mesenteritis">
<B>mesenteritis, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> inflammation of the mesentery. </DL>
<A NAME="mesenteron">
<B>mesenteron, </B>noun, pl. <B>-tera.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Embryology.) the interior of the primitive intestine (archenteron), bounded by endoderm. </DL>
<A NAME="mesenteronic">
<B>mesenteronic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with the mesenteron. </DL>
<A NAME="mesentery">
<B>mesentery, </B>noun, pl. <B>-teries.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a membrane that enfolds and supports an internal organ, attaching it to the body wall or to another organ. </DL>
<A NAME="mesh">
<B>mesh, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>one of the open spaces of a net, sieve, or screen. <BR> <I>Ex. This net has half-inch meshes. An 80-mesh screen has 80 meshes to the inch.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the cord or wire used in a net or screen. <BR> <I>Ex. We found an old fly swatter made of wire mesh.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>a means of catching or holding fast; network; net. <BR> <I>Ex. Here in her hairs the painter plays the spider and hath woven a golden mesh to entrap the hearts of men (Shakespeare).</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>the engagement or fitting together of gear teeth. <DD><I>v.t., v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to catch or be caught in a net. <BR> <I>Ex. The fish was so deeply meshed in the net it could not wriggle free.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to engage or become engaged. The teeth of the small gear mesh with the teeth of the larger one. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) to bring closely together; fit together; blend; integrate. <BR> <I>Ex. The [organization] never had a chance to ... mesh all its supporters into a strong party (Canada Month). Both ... plans need study to find how they might best be meshed (Wall Street Journal).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>in mesh,</B> </I>in gear; fitted together. <BR> <I>Ex. The machinery is in mesh.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>meshes,</B> <DD><B> a. </B>a network; net. </I> <I>Ex. A fish was entangled in the meshes.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>(Figurative.) snares. <BR> <I>Ex. The spy was entangled in the meshes of his own plot to steal defense secrets. Greece has extricated it from the meshes of diplomacy (William E. Gladstone).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="meshach">
<B>Meshach, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> one of the three Hebrews cast into the fiery furnace by Nebuchadnezzar (in the Bible, Daniel 3:12-30). </DL>
<B>meshuga</B> or <B>meshugga, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Slang.) crazy. <BR> <I>Ex. This man is meshugga ... [he] read science-fiction while awaiting trial (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="meshwork">
<B>meshwork, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a structure consisting of meshes; network. </DL>
<A NAME="meshy">
<B>meshy, </B>adjective, <B>meshier,</B> <B>meshiest.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> formed with meshes; meshed; reticulated. </DL>
<A NAME="mesial">
<B>mesial, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having to do with, situated in, or directed toward the middle line of a body; median. adv. <B>mesially.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="mesicatom">
<B>mesic atom,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an atom in which an electron has been replaced by a negatively charged meson. </DL>
<A NAME="mesitylene">
<B>mesitylene, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an oily, colorless, aromatic, liquid hydrocarbon obtained by the action of sulfuric acid on acetone. </DL>
<B>mesnalty, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ties.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the estate of a mesne lord. <DD><B> 2. </B>the condition of being a mesne lord. </DL>
<A NAME="mesne">
<B>mesne, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Law.) middle; intermediate; intervening. <BR> <I>Ex. A feudal lord with vassals, but himself a vassal of a superior, was a mesne lord.</I> </DL>
<B>Mesoamerican, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with Mesoamerica, the central part of the American continent extending from northern Mexico through Central America to the Isthmus of Panama. <DD><I>noun </I> a native or inhabitant of Mesoamerica, especially in prehistoric times. <BR> <I>Ex. ... the complex histories of Mesoamericans, especially the Aztec and Maya (New Scientist).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="mesoblast">
<B>mesoblast, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> mesoderm in an embryo. </DL>
<A NAME="mesoblastic">
<B>mesoblastic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with the mesoblast. <BR> <I>Ex. a mesoblastic cell, the mesoblastic layer.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="mesocarp">
<B>mesocarp, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the middle layer of the pericarp of a fruit or ripened ovary, such as the fleshy part of a peach or plum. </DL>
<A NAME="mesocephalic">
<B>mesocephalic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Anthropology.) <DD><B> a. </B>having a skull with a cranial capacity of from 1,350 to 1,450 cubic centimeters, intermediate between dolichocephalic and brachycephalic. <DD><B> b. </B>having a skull of medium proportion. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Anatomy.) of or having to do with the mesencephalon. </DL>
<A NAME="mesocratic">
<B>mesocratic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (of rock) composed of light and dark minerals in about equal proportions. </DL>
<A NAME="mesoderm">
<B>mesoderm, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the middle layer of cells formed during the development of the embryo of an animal. <BR> <I>Ex. There is a third body layer, the mesoderm, that must be produced in order to lay the foundation for the body parts that are to develop later (A. M. Winchester).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the tissues derived from this layer of cells, such as the muscles, bones, circulatory system, and connective tissue. </DL>
<A NAME="mesodermal">
<B>mesodermal, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with the mesoderm in plants or animals. </DL>
<B>mesofauna, </B>noun, pl. <B>-nas,</B> <B>-nae.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the animals of a given habitat that are of intermediate size. </DL>
<A NAME="mesogastric">
<B>mesogastric, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with the mesogastrium; umbilical. </DL>
<A NAME="mesogastrium">
<B>mesogastrium, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the umbilical region of the abdomen. <DD><B> 2. </B>(in an embryo) one of the two mesenteries of the stomach. </DL>
<A NAME="mesogloea">
<B>mesogloea</B> or <B>mesoglea, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a gelatinous or fibrous layer that connects the outer and inner cell layers of a coelenterate. </DL>
<A NAME="mesogloeal">
<B>mesogloeal</B> or <B>mesogleal, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> consisting of, having to do with, or resembling mesogloea. </DL>
<B>mesognathous, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>having jaws that are of moderate size and project only slightly. <DD><B> 2. </B>having a moderate facial angle (80 to 85 degrees); having a gnathic index that ranges between 98 and 103. </DL>
<A NAME="mesognathy">
<B>mesognathy, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the character or state of being mesognathous. </DL>
<A NAME="mesohippus">
<B>mesohippus, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of an extinct group of horses believed to be an ancestor of the modern horse. It lived in North America about 30 million years ago. About 24 inches in height, it had long slender legs and three toes on each foot. </DL>
<A NAME="mesolithic">
<B>mesolithic</B> or <B>Mesolithic, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with the middle part of the Stone Age, transitional between the neolithic and paleolithic periods. <BR> <I>Ex. We know from the middens of mesolithic Man that shellfish for long remained a favourite food (New Scientist).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> this period. </DL>
<A NAME="mesometeorological">
<B>mesometeorological, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with mesometeorology. </DL>
<A NAME="mesometeorology">
<B>mesometeorology, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the branch of meteorology that deals with atmospheric phenomena of an intermediate range, such as storms affecting an area of several tens of miles. </DL>
<B>mesomorphic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or designating the muscular physical type, characterized by predominance of bone, muscle, and other structures developed from the mesodermal layer of the embryo. adv. <B>mesomorphically.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="mesomorphy">
<B>mesomorphy, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the character or state of being mesomorphic. </DL>
<A NAME="meson">
<B>meson, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a highly unstable particle found in the nucleus of an atom, having a mass greater than that of an electron and less than that of a proton and a very short lifetime (about a millionth of a second or less). A meson may have a positive, negative, or neutral charge. <BR> <I>Ex. Mesons are particles believed to act as the glue that binds atomic nuclei (Science News Letter).</I> adj. <B>mesonlike.</B> </DL>
