gastrula: Meaning and Definition of

gas•tru•la

Pronunciation: (gas'troo-lu), [key]
— pl. -las, -lae
  1. a metazoan embryo in an early state of germ layer formation following the blastula stage, consisting of a cuplike body of two layers of cells, the ectoderm and endoderm, enclosing a central cavity, or archenteron, that opens to the outside by the blastopore: in most animals progressing to the formation of a third cell layer, the mesoderm.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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