Wolff'ian

Relating to or described by one of the name Wolff, specifically Kaspar Fried rich Wolff, St. Petersburg embryologist bom in Germany, 1733-1794. W. body, mesonephros, a transitory paired organ in the fetus, one on either side of the spinal column, com i posed of convoluted tubules opening into a duct discharging into the cloaca; it persists in the male as the epididymis, in the female as the parovarium. W. duct, a canal in the embryo connecting the coelom and the cloaca, forming later the duct of the mesonephros; in the male it persists as the duct us deferens, in the female it is represented by the rudimentary Gartner's canal. W. mes'enteiy, a membranous fold, developed from the W. body, which enters into the formation of the primitive diaphragm. W. ridge, a slight prominence on each side of the attachment of the primitive mesentery in the embryo which later develops into the W. body or mesonephros.