osculum
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os·cu·lum
(ŏs'kyə-ləm) 
also os·cule (-kyūl')
n., pl., -cu·la (-kyə-lə), also -cules.
The mouthlike opening in a sponge, used to expel water.
also os·cule (-kyūl')n., pl., -cu·la (-kyə-lə), also -cules.
The mouthlike opening in a sponge, used to expel water.
[Latin ōsculum, diminutive of ōs, mouth.]
oscular os'cu·lar adj.Related Videos:
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osculum
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(ŏs'kyə-ləm)
n., pl. -la (-lə).
n., pl. -la (-lə).
A pore or minute opening.
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Osculum
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This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008) |
- For the kiss called osculum, see Osculum infame
The osculum is an excretory structure in the living sponge, a large opening to the outside through which the current of water exits after passing through the spongocoel. Wastes diffuse into the water and the water exits through the osculum at a velocity of nearly 8.4 cm/second, carrying away with it the sponge's wastes. The size of the osculum is regulated by the myocyte. Its size, in turn, determines the amount of water flowing through the sponge.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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