pronephron

Noun

pronephron (plural pronephrons)

1. The first part of the urogenital system to be differentiated in a vertebrate embryo, which functions as a simple excretory organ in simpler forms, serves as a provisional kidney in some fish and amphibians, and only appears as a temporary embryonic structure in reptiles, birds, and mammals.
   • In addition, while in the pronephron only vacuolization was noted, the structure of the liver had an atypical appearance and there was a considerable number of erythrocytes scattered among the hepatic chords which themselves were noticeably altered.1975, Acta Embryologiae Experimentalis, page 110
   • The whole problem turned around a detailed understanding of the so-called Wolffian body, what modern textbooks in embryology designate as the pronephron and its associated Wolffian or pronephric ducts.1982, T. Lenoir, The Strategy of Life, →ISBN, page 106

   Synonyms:

   pronephros