MANX a.
(Zoöl.), a breed of domestic cats having a rudimentary tail, containing only about three vertebrae. -- Manx shearwater (Zoöl.), an oceanic bird (Puffinus anglorum, or P. puffinus), called also Manx petrel, Manx puffin. It was formerly abundant in the Isle of Man.
MARSIPOBRANCHIA n.
A class of Vertebrata, lower than fishes, characterized by their purselike gill cavities, cartilaginous skeletons, absence of limbs, and a suckerlike mouth destitute of jaws. It includes the lampreys and hagfishes. See Cyclostoma, and Lamprey. Called also Marsipobranchiata, and Marsipobranchii.
MEDULLARY a.
illed with spongy pith; pithy. Medullary groove (Anat.), a groove, in the epiblast of the vertebrate blastoderm, the edges of which unite, making a tube (the medullary canal) from which the brain and spinal cord are developed. -- Medullary rays (Bot.), the rays of cellular tissue seen in a transverse section of exogen…
NERVOUS a.
e specialized coördinating apparatus which endows animals with sensation and volition. In vertebrates it is often divided into three systems: the central, brain and spinal cord; the peripheral, cranial and spinal nerves; and the sympathetic. See Brain, Nerve, Spinal cord, under Spinal, and Sympathetic system, under Sym…
NEURAL a.
on the side with, the neural, or cerebro-spinal, axis; -- opposed to hemal. As applied to vertebrates, neural is the same as dorsal; as applied to invertebrates it is usually the same as ventral. Cf. Hemal. Neural arch (Anat.), the cartilaginous or bony arch on the dorsal side of the centrum of the vertebra in a segmen…