endostyle

[ en-duh-stahyl ]
/ ˈɛn dəˌstaɪl /

noun Anatomy.

a ciliated groove or pair of grooves in the pharynx of various lower chordates, as tunicates, cephalochordates, and larval cyclostomes, serving to accumulate food particles and pass them along the digestive tract.

Origin of endostyle

1850–55; endo- + -style1; so called because the groove is said to resemble a hollow rod from certain viewing angles

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