fetal

[feet-l] /ˈfit l/

adjective, Embryology

of, pertaining to, or having the character of a fetus.

Also, foetal.

Origin

1805-15; fet(us) + -al¹

Related forms

postfetal, adjective

postfoetal, adjective

Can be confused

fatal, fateful, fetal (see synonym study at fatal)

Examples from the web for fetal

Brains are expensive-it takes a lot of energy to build brains during fetal and childhood development and maintain them in adults.
There is also a fetal skull with a flexible gooseneck wire.
Intervening in fetal nutrition is not a simple matter, of course.
Neither should such hybrids be nurtured to a late-fetal stage, then harvested.
The company's cells are isolated from human fetal tissue and then grown in culture.
He dived halfway down a flight of stairs and curled up in a fetal position on a landing.
Hormones are what tell the fetal cell what it will be when it grows up.
Interest returns in using fetal cells to repair damaged brains.
My first reaction was that regulatory agencies stop worrying about non-fetal stem cell research.
The fetal surface of the placenta is smooth, being closely invested by the amnion.

British Dictionary definitions for fetal

fetal

/ˈfiːtəl/

adjective

of, relating to, or resembling a fetus

Word Origin and History for fetal

adj.

1811, from fetus + -al (1).

fetal in Medicine

fetal fe·tal (fēt'l)
adj.
Of, relating to, or being a fetus.

fetal in Science

fetus

(fē'təs)
The unborn offspring of a mammal at the later stages of its development, especially a human from eight weeks after fertilization to its birth. In a fetus, all major body organs are present.

fetal adjective