gastrovascular

American

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

adjective

Zoology.

serving for digestion and circulation, as a cavity.

gastrovascular British

/ ˌɡæstrəʊˈvæskjʊlə /

adjective

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of gastrovascular

First recorded in 1875–80; gastro- + vascular

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.

See Examples For:

gastrovascular

The simplest example is that of a gastrovascular cavity and is found in organisms with only one opening for digestion.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022

Mesenteries do not divide the gastrovascular cavity completely, and the smaller cavities coalesce at the pharyngeal opening.

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

Cnidarian cells exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide by diffusion between cells in the epidermis with water in the environment, and between cells in the gastrodermis with water in the gastrovascular cavity.

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

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023