UCMP Glossary: V
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vacuole -- Membrane-bound fluid-filled space within a cell. In most plant cells, there is a single large vacuole filling most of the cell's volume. Some bacterial cells contain gas vacuoles.
vascular -- Refers to a network of tubes which distribute nutrients and remove wates from the tissues of the body. Large multicellular animals must rely on a vascular system to keep their cells nourished and alive.
vegetative growth -- Growth of a plant by division of cells, without sexual reproduction.
vertebra -- A component of the vertebral column, or backbone, found in vertebrates.
vicariance -- Speciation which occurs as a result of the separation and subsequent isolation of portions of an orginal population.
volcanic -- adj. Describes the action or process of magma and gases rising to the crust and being extruded onto the surface and into the atmosphere; also applies to the resulting igneous rocks that cool on the surface of the Earth, including beneath water, which typically have small crystals due to the rapidity of cooling. volcanically - adv. extrusive - syn. plutonic - ant.
volcanic arc -- n. A curved chain of islands that rise from the sea floor, usually near a continent. The convex side usually faces the open ocean, while the concave side usually faces the continent; island arc - syn.
volcanism -- n. The process by which magma and associated gases rise to the Earth’s crust and are extruded, or expelled, onto the surface and into the atmosphere.
