Plural of apodema; multiple internal ridges or projections of the exoskeleton in arthropods that serve as muscle attachment points.
From 'apodema' with the standard English plural '-s,' used in entomology and arthropod anatomy to refer to several of these internal structures.
When entomologists describe how insects move, they're really talking about how hundreds of tiny muscles pull on these microscopic ridges inside their exoskeletons—it's biomechanical poetry.
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