cloaca

[kloh-ey-kuh] /kloʊˈeɪ kə/
noun, plural cloacae
[kloh-ey-see] /kloʊˈeɪ si/ (Show IPA)
1.
Zoology.
  1. the common cavity into which the intestinal, urinary, and generative canals open in birds, reptiles, amphibians, many fishes, and certain mammals.
  2. a similar cavity in invertebrates.
2.
a sewer, especially an ancient sewer.
Origin
1650-60; < Latin clo(u)āca, cluāca sewer, drain; probably akin to Greek klýzein to wash, wash away
Related forms
cloacal, adjective
precloacal, adjective
Examples from the web for cloaca
  • Homeopathically patterned fecal water now joins the city cloaca.
  • Frogs only have one hole, though: everything exits via the cloaca.
  • The cloaca opens externally in what is called the vent.
  • Both the viviparous and the oviparous snakes have an opening in the body called cloaca.
  • The tail is short and the cloaca is near the end of the body.
British Dictionary definitions for cloaca

cloaca

/kləʊˈeɪkə/
noun (pl) -cae (-kiː)
1.
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
Derived Forms
cloacal, adjective
Word Origin
C18: from Latin: sewer; related to Greek kluzein to wash out
Word Origin and History for cloaca
n.

1650s, euphemism for "underground sewer," from Latin cloaca "public sewer, drain," from cluere "to cleanse," from PIE root *kleue- "to wash, clean" (cf. Greek klyzein "to dash over, wash off, rinse out," klysma "liquid used in a washing;" Lithuanian šluoju "to sweep;" Old English hlutor, Gothic hlutrs, Old High German hlutar, German lauter "pure, clear"). Use in biology, in reference to eliminatory systems of lower animals, is from 1834. Related: Cloacal (1650s); cloacinal (1857).

cloaca in Medicine

cloaca clo·a·ca (klō-ā'kə)
n.

  1. In early embryos, the entodermally lined chamber into which the hindgut and allantois empty.

  2. The common cavity into which the intestinal, genital, and urinary tracts open in vertebrates such as fish, reptiles, birds, and some mammals.

  3. An opening in a diseased bone containing a fragment of dead bone.

clo·a'cal (-kəl) adj.
cloaca in Science
cloaca
  (klō-ā'kə)   
Plural cloacae (klō-ā'sē')

  1. The body cavity into which the intestinal, urinary, and genital canals empty in birds, reptiles, amphibians, most fish, and monotremes. The cloaca has an opening for expelling its contents from the body, and in females it serves as the depository for sperm. Also called vent.

  2. See vent.