cloacas
Roman drainage systems
Cloacas is the plural of cloaca, a single opening that serves as the exit for the digestive, urinary, and reproductive systems in birds, reptiles, amphibians, and some fish.
The word comes from Latin for sewer or drain.
In anatomy, it describes this all-purpose posterior vent: Birds eliminate waste through their cloacas.
Figuratively rare, cloaca can mean any foul receptacle.
Underground sewage container
- filthFoul, accumulated matter
- corruptionDishonest abuse of power
- depravityProfound moral corruption
- squalorDirty, degraded living conditions
vice · degradation · den · pit · moral · decay · sordid · foulness
Opening for airflow
- oviductEgg-conveying canal
- excretionRemoval of metabolic waste
- reptileCold-blooded scaled vertebrate
- birdFeathered flying vertebrate
amphibian · monotreme · digestive · urinary · reproductive · cavity · opening · posterior
Underground drainage pipe
- drainChannel for wastewater
- RomanOf ancient Italy's capital
- ancientVery old indeed
- undergroundBelow ground or countercultural
conduit · wastewater · aqueduct · sanitation · cesspool · effluent · culvert · maxima
cesspit
Underground sewage container
- filthFoul, accumulated matter
- corruptionDishonest abuse of power
- depravityProfound moral corruption
squalor · vice · degradation · den · pit · moral · decay · sordid · foulness · sink
vent
Opening for airflow
bird · amphibian · monotreme · digestive · urinary · reproductive · cavity · opening · posterior · intestinal
sewer
Underground drainage pipe
underground · conduit · wastewater · aqueduct · sanitation · cesspool · effluent · culvert · maxima · tunnel