body wall

noun

: the external surface of the animal body consisting of ectoderm and mesoderm and enclosing the body cavity

Examples of body wall in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
While this is happening, the collagen in the body wall in that region softens and breaks, and so do the muscles and ligaments that hold together ossicles. Elizabeth Rayne, Ars Technica, 14 Sep. 2024 The body wall has been pierced, the lungs skewered. Robert Baker, Discover Magazine, 12 Nov. 2019 However, more scans and test results showed there was evidence of swelling in the baby's head and body wall, a heart defect and a tumor on the baby's abdomen that was about one-third the size of the baby and growing. Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 2 May 2023 The condition, called limb body wall complex, is rare. Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, 8 Feb. 2023 Only the minor workers are able to rupture their body wall. Brigit Katz, Smithsonian, 20 Apr. 2018

Word History

First Known Use

1852, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of body wall was in 1852

Dictionary Entries Near body wall

Cite this Entry

“Body wall.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/body%20wall. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.

Medical Definition

body wall

noun
: the external surface of the animal body consisting of ectoderm and mesoderm and enclosing the body cavity
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