preaxialadj.

1873 St. G. Mivart Lessons Elem. Anat. ii. 37 All parts which in man are relatively superior, and in beasts anterior, can be termed pre-axial in all cases.

1875 Encycl. Brit. I. 819/2 Quite recently the term præ-axial has been introduced as equivalent to atlantal, and post-axial to sacral.

1886 Proc. Royal Soc. 41 423 In the first position of the fœtus the great tuberosity and the external condyle of the humerus, the radius and the thumb are turned towards the head; the lesser tuberosity, the internal condyle, the ulna, and the little finger towards the tail. The first set of points have been called pre-axial.

1930 H. G. Newth Marshall & Hurst's Junior Course Pract. Zool. (ed. 11) xiii. 331 The pollex, or preaxial digit, corresponding to the thumb in man, is much shorter than the others.

1974 V. B. Mountcastle et al. Med. Physiol. (ed. 13) I. x. 314/1 Fibers originating from either the foot or the hand are clustered together, separating the preaxial and postaxial sides of arm and leg.

1993 Jrnl. Med. Genetics 30 296 All these affected members showed preaxial polydactyly manifesting as a well formed, articulated extra digit of the hand or foot.

1873 St. G. Mivart Lessons Elem. Anat. ii. 52 In the common european Terrapin we find the fourth cervical with its centrum convex pre-axially, and concave post-axially.

1975 Jrnl. Exper. Zool. 191 383 The effect of this mutant mesenchyme on overlying ectodermal ridge..is to thicken the ridge preaxially.

1996 Developmental Genetics 19 26 Extra digits are present preaxially in addition to the normal digits.