prelacteal, a.
(priːˈlæktiːəl)
[f. pre- B. 1 d + lacteal.]
A. adj. Preceding or anticipating the milk teeth: applied to certain calcified structures in the fœtus of marsupials. B. n. A prelacteal tooth or tooth-like process.
| 1897 Q. Jrnl. Microsc. Sc. Jan. 440 He viewed the calcified structures as the sole remains of an entire ‘prelacteal’ dentition which had otherwise become suppressed. Ibid. 441 The conviction that the deciduous premolar..must belong to the same series as the so-called ‘prelacteals’. |