cloaca
clo·a·ca / klōˈākə/ • n. (pl. -cae / -ˌkē; -ˌsē/ ) Zool. a common cavity at the end of the digestive tract for the release of both excretory and genital products in vertebrates (except most mammals) and certain invertebrates. Specifically, the cloaca is present in birds, reptiles, amphibians, most fish, and monotremes. ∎ archaic a sewer.DERIVATIVES: clo·a·cal adj.
cloaca
cloaca sewer XVIII; (anat.) excretory canal XIX. — L. cloāca, cluāca, earlier clovāca, rel. to cluere cleanse, f. IE. *klu- *kleu- *klou-, repr. also by OE. hlūt(t)or pure, Gr. klúzein wash, bathe.
So cloacal XVII.
So cloacal XVII.
cloaca
cloaca The cavity in the pelvic region into which the terminal parts of the alimentary canal and the urinogenital ducts open in most vertebrates. Placental mammals, however, have a separate anus and urinogenital opening.
cloaca
cloaca In most vertebrates, including Monotremata but excluding other mammals, terminal part of the gut into which the alimentary, urinary, and reproductive systems open, leading to a single aperture in the body.
cloaca
cloaca (kloh-ay-kă) n. the most posterior part of the embryonic hindgut. It becomes divided into the rectum and the urinogenital sinus.
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