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Webster 1913 Edition


Otocyst

O′to-cyst

,
Noun.
[
Oto-
+
cyst
.]
(Zool. & Anat.)
An auditory cyst or vesicle; one of the simple auditory organs of many invertebrates, containing a fluid and otoliths; also, the embryonic vesicle from which the parts of the internal ear of vertebrates are developed.

Definition 2024


otocyst

otocyst

English

Noun

otocyst (plural otocysts)

  1. (invertebrate zoology) An organ involved in balance and orientation.
    • 1898, E. P. Lyon, “The Functions of the Otocyst”, in The Journal of Comparative Neurology, volume 8:
      If the otocysts were removed from these animals, they swam normally and no peculiarities were observed in their behavior.
  2. (vertebrate embryology) The precursor of the inner ear.

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