Acoelomate vs. Coelom — What's the Difference?

An animal that lacks a coelom. Acoelomates, which include flatworms and tapeworms, exhibit bilateral symmetry and have no body cavity between the gut and the epidermis.

The coelom (or celom) is the main body cavity in most animals and is positioned inside the body to surround and contain the digestive tract and other organs. In some animals, it is lined with mesothelium.

(zoology) Any animal without a coelom.

The fluid-filled cavity within the body of most multicellular animals, except some invertebrates such as flatworms and cnidarians, that lies between the body wall and the digestive tract and is formed by the splitting of the embryonic mesoderm into two layers. Also called body cavity.

(zoology) Having no coelom.

(zoology) A fluid-filled cavity within the body of an animal. The digestive system is suspended within the cavity, which is lined by a tissue called the peritoneum.

A cavity in the mesoderm of an embryo that gives rise in humans to the pleural cavity and pericardial cavity and peritoneal cavity