‖ mesosternum
(mɛsəʊˈstɜːnəm)
[mod.L., f. meso- + sternum.]
1. Ent. † a. In Kirby's use (see quot. 1826). b. By later writers applied to the middle ‘sternum’.
| 1826 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. III. 566 The central part of the medipectus, or that which passes between the mid-legs when elevated, protruded, or otherwise remarkable, is called the mesosternum or mid-breast-bone. 1836 Shuckard tr. Burmeister's Man. Entom. 82 The mesosternum (peristethium of Kirby and Spence), is, as well as the scapulæ, divided into two parts. |
2. Anat. That part of the breast-bone lying between the præsternum and the xiphisternum.
| 1868 W. K. Parker Shoulder-girdle Vertebr. 71 The three great divisions into manubrium (præ-sternum), body (mesosternum), and xiphoid process (xiphisternum) are marked out. 1872 Nicholson Palæont. 399 All the other ribs are connected with the mesosternum. |