enterocoelic

Enterocoelic refers to a method of coelom formation found in some animals. The coelom, which is the primary body cavity, develops from the outpocketing of the embryonic gut. Specifically, enterocoely begins with the formation of small pouches or sacs that bud off from the endoderm, the innermost germ layer of the early embryo. These pouches then expand and eventually fuse, creating the space that will become the coelom. This process is characteristic of deuterostomes, a major clade of animals that includes echinoderms and chordates. In contrast, schizocoely is another method of coelom formation where the coelom arises from a split within the mesoderm, the middle germ layer. The enterocoelic mode of development is considered by some to be a more primitive or ancestral form of coelom formation.