cloaca

listen to the pronunciation of cloaca
English - English
A sewer
The common duct in fish, reptiles, birds and some primitive mammals that serves as the anus as well as the genital opening
A privy
a waste pipe that carries away sewage or surface water
{i} sewer; cavity which holds excrement (Zoology)
In vertebrates, common chamber and outlet into which the intestinal, urinary, and genital tracts open. It is present in amphibians, reptiles, birds, some fishes (e.g., sharks), and monotreme mammals but is absent in placental mammals and most bony fishes. Certain animals (e.g., many reptiles and some birds, including ducks) have an accessory organ (penis) within the cloaca that is used to direct the sperm into the female's cloaca. Most birds mate by joining their cloacas in a "cloacal kiss"; muscular contractions transfer the sperm from the male to the female
A sewer; as, the Cloaca Maxima of Rome
The common chamber into which the intestinal, urinary, and generative canals discharge in birds, reptiles, amphibians, and many fishes
cloacae
plural of cloaca
cloaca

    Hyphenation

    clo·a·ca

    Synonyms

    vent

    Pronunciation

    Etymology

    [ klO-'A-k& ] (noun.) 1599. Latin cloaca (“sewer”), from cluere (“to cleanse”).
Favorites