2. (Bot.)
(a) Expanding first at the base of the inflorescence, and
proceeding in order towards the summit.
(b) Having the radicle turned toward the axis of the
fruit, as some embryos.
3. Progressing by changes from the exterior of a thing toward
its center; as, the centripetal calcification of a bone.
--R. Owen.
{Centripetal force} (Mech.), a force whose direction is
towards a center, as in case of a planet revolving round
the sun, the center of the system, See {Centrifugal
force}, under {Centrifugal}.
{Centripetal impression} (Physiol.), an impression (sensory)
transmitted by an afferent nerve from the exterior of the
body inwards, to the central organ.