We will understand from all sides what a cesspool is

The word cloaca is of Latin origin. The Russian language is translated as a place to collect sewage. When analyzing what a cloak is, it is necessary to take into account that the word has several meanings, depending on the field of its application.

The meaning of the word in zoology

Cloaca in zoology is the expanded end of the intestine that opens outward and combines the functions of the urinary, sexual and anal body systems. It is controlled by the muscles of the sphincter.

Animals with a cloaca:

• From fish - frogs, sharks and rays;
• All amphibians (toads, frogs, newts, salamanders and others);
• All reptiles (lizards, snakes, chameleons, turtles, crocodiles and others);
• All birds;
• From mammals - this is echidna and platypus. By the way, these birds live in Australia, and until the middle of the last century, scientists generally doubted their existence.

This single hole - the cloaca - in reptiles, amphibians, birds and other "single-pass" animals provides a single passage of urine, feces and is used for mating and laying eggs.

It is interesting that in some animals this hole also has protective functions. For example, some snakes give off an unpleasant smell through the cloaca to deter predators.

The appearance of the single intestine is of great importance for determining the health of animals. If the cloak of parrots, turtles or other domestic pets bulges outward, red, in the litter, it is necessary to contact the veterinarian for advice. This may be a sign of a digestive system disorder or an infectious disease.

What is a cloaca from a medical point of view?

There is an inborn intrauterine malformation of development - a congenital cloaca. This very serious anomaly is found only in girls. It is characterized by the fusion of the vagina, urethra and rectum into a single canal.

Treatment is possible only in an operative way. Operations to a newborn baby are carried out a few before reaching 6 months. Considering that surgical correction of congenital malformation is one of the most complex operations, it is carried out only in specialized departments by highly qualified children's surgeons.

Forecasts for the treatment of congenital cloaca depend on many factors:

• Timely and correct diagnosis;
• Anatomical features of the anomaly;
• Health status of the baby.

Cloaca in construction - historical roots and modernity

To drain swampy soil between the Roman hills in the 4th century BC, special ground and underground canals were built. Water from these drains was taken from the drained places directly to the Tiber River. The most grandiose of all was the central land channel, which the ancient Romans called the "Big Cloaca", or "Cloaca Maximus". Later the network of channels became successfully used as rain drains and for draining urban sewage.

Cloaca Maxima was composed of durable huge stone blocks without cement. The width of this largest canal reaches 3 m, height - 4 m. The structure has served regularly 24 centuries and is still in working order. Today it is used by the Romans as a storm sewer.

What is a cloak in Ancient Rome? This is nothing more than a prototype of modern sewerage.

Portable word meaning

Different dictionaries of the Russian language explain what a cloak is in a figurative sense.

In the literature this term is branded an immoral, immoral environment. Place of vulgarity, ugly behavior, deep moral degradation, corruption and debauchery. Rape society, in a word.

Synonyms for the word cloac are the following lexical units: a channel, a passage, a sewage system, a collector, an object or device that collects anything dirty, disgusting, unpleasant. Other synonyms are a cesspool or a garbage pit, a pit for sewage, a garbage dump, a garbage dump, a pigsty, an incredibly dirty and neglected place.

Thus, both the figurative interpretation of this word, and the synonyms are closely related to the historical significance of the "Great Cloaca" - the most significant part of the Roman sewage system, a dump of impurities.