SYN: body cavity.
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coe·lom 'sē-ləm n, pl coeloms or coe·lo·ma·ta si-'lō-mət-ə the usu. epithelium-lined body cavity of metazoans above the lower worms that forms a large space when well developed between the digestive tract and the body wall
coe·lo·mate 'sē-lə-.māt adj or n
coe·lo·mic si-'läm-ik, -'lō-mik adj
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n.
the cavity in an embryo between the two layers of mesoderm. It develops into the body cavity.
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coe·lom (seґləm) [Gr. koilōma] the body cavity. In higher invertebrates it persists throughout life (cf. Eucoelomata). In the mammalian embryo, it is situated between the somatopleure and the splanchnopleure and is both extraembryonic and intraembryonic. From the intraembryonic portion arise the principal cavities of the trunk. Also spelled celom. Called also somatic cavity. coelomic adjMedical dictionary. 2011.