Dictionary > Buccal cavity

Buccal cavity

Definition
noun
(1) The oral cavity located at the upper end of the alimentary canal that opens to the outside at the lips and empties into the throat at the rear, and containing structures for mastication and tasting in higher vertebrates.
(2) A body opening or the mouth as to which food (and air) enters the body of an animal or human, as well as for making sounds (e.g. cry or croak).
Supplement
Word origin: Latin bucc(a) + cavity » MF cavite < LL cavitās, hollowness.
Synonym: oral vestibule, vestibulum oris, vestibule of mouth.

Last updated on June 28th, 2021

You will also like...

dinosaurs
The Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs represented a major turn in the evolutionary development of organisms on Earth. The first dinosaurs were presu..

Pikas are an indicator species for climate change
Indicator Species and Endangered Species

Certain species are capable of expressing characteristics indicative of the state of the ecosystem they occupy. They are..

Adaptive Radiation
Adaptive Radiation

The diversification of several new species from a recent ancestral source, each adapted to utilize or occupy a vacant ad..

"Opabinia regalis"
The Evolutionary Development of Multicellular Organisms

Multicellular organisms evolved. The first ones were likely in the form of sponges. Multicellularity led to the evolutio..

Crossing Over and Genetic Diversity
Inheritance and Probability

Gregor Mendel, an Austrian monk, is most famous in this field for his study of the phenotype of pea plants, including ..

river
Running Water Freshwater Communities

This tutorial introduces flowing water communities, which bring new and dithering factors into the equation for possible..