Rha"chis (?), n.; pl. E. Rhachises (#), L. Rhachides (#). [See Rachis.] [Written also rechis.]

1. Anat.

The spine.

2. Bot. (a)

The continued stem or midrib of a pinnately compound leaf, as in a rose leaf or a fern.

(b)

The principal axis in a raceme, spike, panicle, or corymb.

3. Zool. (a)

The shaft of a feather. The rhachis of the after-shaft, or plumule, is called the hyporhachis.

(b)

The central cord in the stem of a crinoid.

(c)

The median part of the radula of a mollusk.

(d)

A central cord of the ovary of nematodes.

 

© Webster 1913.

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