METANEPHROS

[meta.neph.ros] n, pl -roi [NL, fr. meta- + Gk nephros kidney--more at nephritis] (1884): either member of the final and most caudal pair of the three successive pairs of vertebrate renal organs that functions as a permanent adult kidney in reptiles, birds, and mammals but is not present at all in lower forms--compare mesonephros, pronephros -- meta.neph.ric adj