Hydrostatic skeleton

Invertebrate anatomy
Alternate Title: hydroskeleton

Learn about this topic in these articles:


form and function

Hydrostatic skeletons are the most prevalent skeletal system used by animals for movement and support. A minimal hydroskeleton resembles a closed container. The walls are two layers of muscles (antagonists) oriented at right angles to one another; the inside contains an incompressible fluid or gel. The contraction of one set of muscles exerts a pressure on the fluid, which is forced to move at...

muscle systems

...right sides can be antagonistic toward each other. In worms the body fluids render muscles antagonistic through hydrostatic forces. The principle involved is sometimes called the principle of the hydrostatic skeleton.
Though many mollusks have shells, most molluscan muscle systems depend on the principle of the hydrostatic skeleton. In some cases, body fluids are involved; for example, the feet of clams are extended and inflated by the inflow of blood. In other cases the muscle itself serves as the incompressible element that must thicken as it shortens or become slender as it elongates, to maintain constant...

supportive tissue

The hydrostatic skeleton is made possible by closed fluid-filled internal spaces of the body. It is of great importance in a wide variety of animal groups because it permits the antagonistic action of muscles used in locomotion and other movements. The fluid spaces are part of the gastrovascular cavity in the Coelenterata, part of the coelomic cavity (between the gut and the body wall) in the...
hydrostatic skeleton
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