archenteron /arken″təron/ pl. archentera [Gk, arche, beginning, enteron, intestine] , the primitive digestive cavity formed by invagination into the gastrula, which is lined with entoderm during the embryonic development of many animals. It corresponds to the tubular cavity in the vertebrates that connects the amniotic cavity with the yolk sac. Also called archigaster, coelenteron, gastrocoele, primitive gut. See also gastrula. −archenteric, adj.
