Water vascular system

The water vascular system is a fluid-filled network of canals in echinoderms that operates tube feet and related structures, supporting movement, feeding, and other functions.

Madreporite: A porous plate on many echinoderms that permits seawater exchange with the water vascular system. This sieve-like opening commonly forms the system’s external connection to seawater.
Echinoderm: A marine invertebrate in the phylum Echinodermata, including sea stars, sea urchins, and sea cucumbers. The water vascular system is a distinctive feature shared across this animal group.
Starfish locomotion: Movement by sea stars, produced largely through coordinated action of their tube feet. Tube-foot adhesion and release let sea stars travel over surfaces.
Insect tracheal system: A branching network of air-filled tubes that delivers oxygen directly to insect tissues. Unlike this respiratory network, the water vascular system chiefly operates appendages.
Stone canal: A canal connecting the madreporite to the ring canal in many echinoderms. It carries incoming fluid from the madreporite toward the central canal network.
Coelom: A fluid-filled body cavity completely lined by mesoderm in many animal groups. The water vascular system is a specialized fluid network, distinct from the general body cavity.
Sea urchin feeding: Food acquisition in sea urchins, often involving scraping or biting with specialized mouthparts. Some sea urchins use tube feet to handle food and transport it toward the mouth.
Molluscan muscular foot: A muscular ventral body structure used for movement or attachment in many mollusks. Mollusks often move with a single muscular foot rather than many hydraulic tube feet.
Ring canal: A circular canal around the mouth that distributes fluid to radial canals in echinoderms. It routes fluid from the central system into the arms or body regions.
Connective tissue: Animal tissue that supports, connects, or separates other tissues and organs. Echinoderm connective tissues help tube feet hold positions and alter stiffness.

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