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viscero-

The viscera.

Latin viscera, the plural of viscus.

The viscera are the internal organs in the main cavities of the body, especially those in the abdomen (the singular is viscus). A viscerotropic micro-organism is one that tends to attack the viscera; a viscerosomatic reaction is a muscular response to a stimulus in a visceral organ; visceromotor impulses control the smooth muscle in the viscera. The adjective relating to the viscera is visceral, though it also has a figurative sense relating to deep inward feelings rather than to the intellect.

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