cloaca
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clo·a·ca
(klō-ā′kə)n. pl. clo·a·cae (-sē′)
1. A sewer or latrine.
2. Zoology
a. The common cavity that serves as the opening for the intestinal, genital, and urinary tracts in many vertebrates, including amphibians, reptiles, birds, monotremes, and some fishes.
b. The posterior part of the intestinal tract in various invertebrates.
[Latin cloāca, sewer, canal.]
clo·a′cal (-kəl) adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
cloaca
(kləʊˈeɪkə)n, pl -cae (-kiː)
1. (Zoology) a cavity in the pelvic region of most vertebrates, except higher mammals, and certain invertebrates, into which the alimentary canal and the genital and urinary ducts open
2. a sewer
[C18: from Latin: sewer; related to Greek kluzein to wash out]
cloˈacal, cloˈacaline, ˌcloaˈcinal adj
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
clo•a•ca
(kloʊˈeɪ kə)n., pl. -cae (-sē).
1.
a. the common cavity into which the intestinal, urinary, and generative canals open in birds, reptiles, amphibians, many fishes, and certain mammals.
b. a similar cavity in invertebrates.
2. a sewer, esp. an ancient sewer.
[1650–60; < Latin clo(u)āca, cluāca sewer, drain]
clo•a′cal, adj.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
clo·a·ca
(klō-ā′kə) The body cavity into which the intestinal, urinary, and genital canals empty in birds, reptiles, amphibians, most fish, and the primitive mammals known as monotremes. The cloaca has an opening for expelling its contents from the body.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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Noun | 1. | cloaca - (zoology) the cavity (in birds, reptiles, amphibians, most fish, and monotremes but not mammals) at the end of the digestive tract into which the intestinal, genital, and urinary tracts open zoological science, zoology - the branch of biology that studies animals |
2. | cloaca - a waste pipe that carries away sewage or surface water sewage system, sewage works, sewer system - facility consisting of a system of sewers for carrying off liquid and solid sewage |
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