mesoglea

American  

[mez-uh-glee-uh, mes-, mee-zuh-, -suh-] / ˌmɛz əˈgli ə, ˌmɛs-, ˌmi zə-, -sə- /

Or mesogloea

noun

1. the noncellular, gelatinous material between the inner and outer body walls of a coelenterate or sponge.

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mesoglea British  

/ ˌmɛsəʊˈɡliːə /

noun

1. the gelatinous material between the outer and inner cellular layers of jellyfish and other coelenterates

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Other Word Forms

• mesogleal adjective

Etymology

Origin of mesoglea

1885–90; < New Latin mesogloea, equivalent to meso- meso- + Greek gloía glue

Example Sentences

The mesoglea is thicker in the dome of the medusa than in the polyp.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

Cnidarians have outer and inner tissue layers sandwiching a noncellular mesoglea.

From Textbooks • Apr. 25, 2013

It lay limp, crippled, its mesoglea torn, the bell deflated.

From New York Times • Nov. 28, 2012

With two fine metal picks, he began to perforate the medusa’s mesoglea, the gelatinous tissue that composes the bell.

From New York Times • Nov. 28, 2012

A living jellyfish has three layers: an outer epidermis, an inner gastric lining and, appropriately, a translucent jelly-like middle layer called mesoglea.

From Scientific American • Jul. 25, 2012