Noun, pl. Meckel’s cartilages
Also known as Meckelian’s cartilages.
1. The cartilaginous bar of the embryonic mandibular arch of which the distal end ossifies to form the malleus and most of the rest disappears in development, with the part adjacent to the malleus being replaced by fibrous membrane comprising the sphenomandibular ligament and the connective tissue covering most of the remaining part ossifying to form much of the mandible. (merriam-webster.com)
2. Hyaline cartilage formed in the mandibular process of the first branchial arch of vertebrate embryos. (sciencedirect.com)
3. The bilaterally paired, rod-like, cartilaginous ventral component of the lower jaw, or ventral mandibular arch. It is typically resorbed in adults. (zfin.org)
Syn: ventral mandibular cartilage
Word origin: Named after Johann Friedrich Meckel (1781-1833), German anatomist.