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ch4.intro to animals
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| homeostasis | the condition in which an organisms internal environment is kept stable in spite of changes in the external environment |
| adaption | 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 all pass through a central point divide the animal into two mirror images |
| bilateral symmetry | a body plan in which a single imaginary line divides the body into left and right |
| cnidarian | a radially symmetrical invertebrate that uses stinging cells to capture its food and defend itself |
| mollusk | and invertebrate with a soft unsegmented body, most are protected by a hard outer shell |
| arthropod | an invertebrate that has an external skeleton, a segmented body and jointed appendages |
| exoskeleton | external skeleton a tough water-proof outer covering that protects supports and helps prevent evaporation from water of the body of many invertebrates |
| echinoderm | a radially symmetrical marine invertebrate that has an internal skeleton and a system of fluid filled tubes |
| endoskeleton | an internal skeleton structural support system inside the body of an animal |
| chordate | an animal that has a notochord a nerve cord and throat pouches at some point in his life |
| notochord | a flexible rod that supports a chordates 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 body temperature is determined by the temperature of its environment |
| endotherm | an animal whose body 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 finns |
| cartilage | a connective tissue that is more flexible than bone and that protects the ends of bones and keeps them from rubbing together |
| amphibian | a vertebrate whose body temperature is determined by the temperature of its environment |
| reptile | and that lives its early life on water and its adult life on land |
| bird | a vertebrate whose body temperature is regulated by its internal heat lays 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 or the mammals young |
| monotreme | a mammal that lays eggs |
| marsupial | a mammal whose young are born at an early stage of development |
| placental mammal | a mammal that develops inside its mothers body until its body systems can function on its own |
| placenta | an organ in most pregnant mammals and humans that links the mother and the developing embryo and allows the passage of materials between them |