Mesodermal

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to the middle embryonic tissue layer that develops into muscles, bones, blood vessels, and connective tissues
2. Pertaining to the embryonic layer situated between the ectoderm and endoderm that gives rise to various structures including muscles, circulatory systems, and supportive tissues
3. Connected to the developmental layer in embryos that is responsible for forming the skeletal system, muscular structures, and vascular components

Etymology: "Mesodermal" is a plain technical formation: it takes "mesoderm," the name for the middle of the three primary germ layers in an animal embryo, and adds the adjective suffix "-al." The noun itself was built from Greek roots, "mesos" meaning "middle" and "derma" meaning "skin," so the layer is literally the "middle skin" of the developing body. Biologists needed names for the layers that form between the outer ectoderm and inner endoderm, and "mesoderm" was coined for that purpose. The suffix has a long Latin ancestry. The Latin "-alis" passed into Old French as "-el" and "-al," and then into Middle English as "-al," where it became a productive way to turn nouns into adjectives meaning "relating to" or "of the nature of." English speakers attach it freely to scientific nouns, so "mesodermal" simply means "relating to the mesoderm," the tissue that gives rise to muscle, bone, and connective tissue.