from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Visceral \Vis"cer*al\, a. [Cf. F. visc['e]ral, LL. visceralis.]
1. (Anat.) Of, pertaining to, or affecting the viscera;
splanchnic.
[1913 Webster]
2. Fig.: Having deep sensibility. [R.] --Bp. Reynolds.
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3. proceeding from emotion or instinct rather than from
intellect; deeply emotional; -- as, a visceral reaction.
[PJC]
4. dealing with coarse or base emotions; -- as, a visceral
literary style. --[RHUD]
[PJC]
{Visceral arches} (Anat.), the bars or ridges between the
visceral clefts.
{Visceral cavity} or {Visceral tube} (Anat.), the ventral
cavity of a vertebrate, which contains the alimentary
canal, as distinguished from the dorsal, or
cerebro-spinal, canal.
{Visceral clefts} (Anat.), transverse clefts on the sides
just back of the mouth in the vertebrate embryo, which
open into the pharyngeal portion of the alimentary canal,
and correspond to the branchial clefts in adult fishes.
[1913 Webster]