gastrovascular

American  

[gas-troh-vas-kyuh-ler] / ˌgæs troʊˈvæs kjə lər /

adjective

Zoology.

1. serving for digestion and circulation, as a cavity.

---

gastrovascular British  

/ ˌɡæstrəʊˈvæskjʊlə /

adjective

1. (esp of the body cavities of coelenterates) functioning in digestion and circulation

---

Etymology

Origin of gastrovascular

First recorded in 1875–80; gastro- + vascular

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gastrovascular

There is no excretory system or organs, and nitrogenous wastes simply diffuse from the cells into the water outside the animal or in the gastrovascular cavity.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015

There is also no circulatory system, so nutrients must move from the cells that absorb them in the lining of the gastrovascular cavity through the mesoglea to other cells.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015

Part b shows a cross-section of a sea anemone, which has a tube-shaped body with an opening called a gastrovascular cavity at its center.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015

Many hydrozoans form colonies composed of branches of specialized polyps that share a gastrovascular cavity.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 25, 2013

Food is taken into the gastrovascular cavity, enzymes are secreted into the cavity, and the cells lining the cavity absorb the nutrient products of the extracellular digestive process.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 25, 2013