mesoglea

invertebrate anatomy

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Assorted References

  • fed by circulatory system
    • human circulatory system
      In circulatory system: General features of circulation

      …amorphous, acellular layer called the mesoglea; for these animals, bathing both cellular surfaces with environmental fluid is sufficient to supply their metabolic needs. All other major eumetazoan phyla (i.e., those with defined tissues and organs) are triploblastic (i.e., their members have three layers of cells), with the third cellular layer,…

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  • relationship to muscle
    • striated muscle; human biceps muscle
      In muscle: Cnidarians

      …a middle gelatinous layer called mesoglea. In hydras and other two-layered animals, one kind of cell serves as both muscle and epithelial cells. The compact body of each cell is packed closely with the adjacent cells to form an epithelium, and the base of each cell, where it meets the…

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anatomy of

    • Cnidaria
      • sea anemone
        In cnidarian: Tissues and muscles

        Between these is sandwiched the mesoglea, a largely noncellular layer composed of a jellylike material permeated by a complex network of supporting fibres that may be microscopically thin or very thick. The fibres and jelly are elastic. In medusae, mesoglea comprises the bulk of the animal and forms a resilient…

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      • vertebrate: skeleton
        In skeleton: Semirigid structures

        The mesoglea layer, which lies between the ectoderm and the endoderm (the innermost tissue layer) of coelenterates, is thin in small species and massive in large ones. It forms a flexible skeleton, associated with supporting muscle fibres on both the ectodermal and endodermal sides. In many…

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    • Ctenophora
      • ctenophore
        In ctenophore: Form and function.

        …a thick gelatinous layer, the mesoglea. Because it contains not only many mesenchymal cells (or unspecialized connective tissue) but also specialized cells (e.g., muscle cells), the mesoglea forms a true mesoderm. In this respect the comb jellies are more highly evolved than even the most complex cnidarians.

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    • jellyfish
      • A deep-sea jellyfish of the genus Crossota collected from the Canadian Basin in the Arctic Ocean.
        In jellyfish

        …between which lies the gelatinous mesoglea. In jellyfish the transparent mesoglea layer is quite thick.

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    • Radiata
      • Fallow deer (Dama dama)
        In animal: Radiata: a tissue level of organization

        …ectoderm of coelenterates is the mesoglea, a gelatinous mass that contains connective fibres of collagen and usually some cells. Both layers contain muscle fibres and a two-dimensional web of nerve cells at the base; the endoderm surrounds a central cavity, which ranges from simple to complex in shape and serves…

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