coelom
Americannoun
noun
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The body cavity that forms from the mesoderm during the embryonic development of more complex animals. The coelom suspends the gut in fluid in the middle of the body, protecting it from gravity and allowing great increases in body size. The presence or absence of a coelom is important for the classification of animal phyla.
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See more at deuterostome protostome
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of coelom
1875–80; < Greek koílōma cavity, equivalent to koilō-, variant stem of koiloûn to hollow out (verbal derivative of koîlos hollow) + -ma noun suffix denoting result
Vocabulary lists containing coelom
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Coelom of the first, second, third and fourth somites.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 6 "Armour Plates" to "Arundel, Earls of" by Various
IV, V, and VI, Coelom of the fourth, fifth and sixth somites.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 6 "Armour Plates" to "Arundel, Earls of" by Various
Mesoderm, Coelom and Blood-System.—From the mesoderm most of the organs of the body—muscular, circulatory, reproductive—take their origin.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 4 "Hero" to "Hindu Chronology" by Various
Coelom generally reduced to a system of tubes, sometimes communicating with vascular system; in Acanthobdella and Ozobranchus a series of metamerically arranged chambers as in Oligochaeta.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 7 "Cerargyrite" to "Charing Cross" by Various
III and IV, Coelom of the third and fourth somites.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 6 "Armour Plates" to "Arundel, Earls of" by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
