preaxial

[ pree-ak-see-uhl ]

adjective

, Anatomy, Zoology.

1. situated before the body axis; pertaining to the radial side of the upper limb and the tibial side of the lower limb.

preaxial

/ priːˈæksɪəl /

adjective

1. situated or occurring in front of the axis of the body
2. of or relating to the anterior part of a vertebrate limb

Derived Forms

• preˈaxially, adverb

Other Words From

• pre·axi·al·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of preaxial¹

1870–75; pre- + axial ( def )

Example Sentences

The 2-year-old had surgery for the condition, called preaxial polydactyly or bifid thumb, at Shriners Children’s Chicago hospital this year.

From Washington Post

Lettice, L. A., Hill, A. E., Devenney, P. S. & Hill, R. E. Point mutations in a distant sonic hedgehog cis-regulator generate a variable regulatory output responsible for preaxial polydactyly.

From Nature

Pre-, prē, before, in compound words like preanal, preauditory, preaxial, prebasal, prebrachial, precardiac, precentral, precerebral, precloacal, precordial, precoracoid, predentate, pre-esophageal, &c.

From Project Gutenberg

When found in felines, the condition, formally known as preaxial polydactyly, is now commonly referred to as a “Hemingway cat.”

From New York Times

The penultimate and antepenultimate segments of the toxicognaths are reduced on the preaxial side of the appendage to the condition of arthrodial integumental folds and suppressed on the postaxial side where the distal segment or fang is firmly jointed to the femoral segment.

From Project Gutenberg