Main Entry: mes·en·tery

Pronunciation: \ˈme-z^ən-ˌter-ē, -s^ən-\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural mes·en·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 \ˌme-z^ən-ˈter-ik, -s^ən-\ adjective