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| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Homeostasis | The condition in which an organism's internal environment is kept stable in spite of changes in the external environment. |
| Adaptation | An inherited behavior or physical characteristic that helps an organism survive and reproduce in its environment. |
| Vertebrate | An animal with a backbone. |
| Invertebrate | An animal without a backbone. |
| Tissue | A group of similar cells that perform a specific function |
| Organ | A body structure that is composed of different kinds of tissues that work together. |
| Radial Symmetry | A body plan in which any number of imaginary lines that pass through a central point divide the animal into two mirror images. |
| Bilateral Symmetry | A body plan in which a single imaginary line divided the body into left and right sides that are mirror images of each other. |
| Cnidarian | A radially symmetrical invertebrate that uses stinging cells to capture food and defend itself. |
| Mollusk | An invertebrate with a soft, unsegmented body; most are protected with a hard shell. |
| Arthropod | An invertebrate that has an eternal skeleton, a segmented body, and jointed appendages. |
| Exoskeleton | External skeleton; a thought, waterproof outer covering that protects, supports, and helps prevent evaporation of water from the body of many invertebrates. |
| Echinoderm | A radially symmetrical marine invertebrate that has an internal skeleton and a system of fluid-filled tubes. |
| Chordate | An animal that has a notochord, a nervous cord, and throat punches at some point in its life. |
| Notochord | A flexible rod that supports a chordate's back just below the nerve cord. |
| Vertebrae | The bones that make up the backbone of an organism. In humans, one of the 26 bones that make up the backbone. |
| Ectotherm | An animal whose temperature is determined by the temperature of its environment. |
| Endotherm | An animal whose temperature is regulated by the internal heat the animal produces. |
| Fish | A vertebrate whose body temperature is determined by the temperature of its environment, and that lives in the water and has fins. |
| Cartilage | A connective tissue that is more flexible than one and that protects to ends of bones and keeps them from rubbing together. |
| Amphibian | A vertebrate whose body temperature is determined by the temperature of its environment, and that lives its early life in water and its adult life on land. |
| Reptile | A vertebrate whose temperature is determined by the temperature of its environment, that has lungs and scaly skin, and that lays eggs on land. |
| Bird | A vertebrate whose body temperature is regulated by its internal heat, lay eggs, and has feathers and a four-chambered heart. |
| Mammal | A vertebrate whose body temperature is regulated by its internal heat, and that has skin covered with hair or fur and glands that produce milk to feed its young. |
| Mammary Gland | An organ in female mammals that produces milk for the mammals young. |
| Monotreme | A mammal that lays eggs. |
| Marsupial | A mammal whose young are born at an early stage of development, which usually continue to develop in a pouch on their mother's body. |
| Placental Mammal | A mammal that develops inside it's mother's body until its body systems can function independently. |
| Placenta | An organ in most pregnant mammals, including humans, that links the mother and the developing embryo and allows for the passage of materials between them. |