n.
Pronunciation: ' me-z ə n- ˌ ter- ē , -s ə n-
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -ter · ies
Etymology: Middle English mesenterie, from Medieval Latin mesenterion, from Greek, from mes- + enteron intestine ― more at INTER-
Date: 15th century
1 a : one or more vertebrate membranes that consist of a double fold of the peritoneum and invest the intestines and their appendages and connect them with the dorsal wall of the abdominal cavity b : a fold of membrane comparable to a mesentery and supporting a viscus (as the heart) that is not a part of the digestive tract
2 : a support or partition in an invertebrate like the vertebrate mesentery
– mes · en · ter · ic \ ˌ me-z ə n- ' ter-ik, -s ə n- \ adjective