branchial

American  

[brang-kee-uhl] / ˈbræŋ ki əl /

adjective

1. of or relating to gills or to the homologous, embryonic parts in animals without gills.

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branchial British  

/ ˈbræŋkɪəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to the gills of an aquatic animal, esp a fish

2. of or relating to homologous structures in higher vertebrates

   branchial cyst

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Other Word Forms

• hyperbranchial adjective
• interbranchial adjective
• prebranchial adjective
• subbranchial adjective

Etymology

Origin of branchial

First recorded in 1795–1805; branchi- + -al ¹

Example Sentences

The funnel's walls are formed by branchial arches, which include comb-like structures.

From Science Daily • Dec. 22, 2025

Now, a group of Kyoto University researchers have produced neural crest cell-rich aggregates from human pluripotent stem cells and developed a method to differentiate them in cell populations with a branchial arch-like gene expression pattern.

From Science Daily • Apr. 11, 2024

But the makings of a new way of feeding were already present in fish anatomy: a series of curved bones called branchial arches and the supporting muscles.

From Science Magazine • May 24, 2023

In fish the branchial arches form the jaws, the hyoid bone that supports the back of the jaw, and the skeleton that forms the throat and gill slits.

From Science Magazine • May 24, 2023

That this is, so to speak, a need of animals with localized respiratory organs is seen by the existence of provisions serving a similar purpose in other animals, e.g. the branchial hearts of the Cephalopoda.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 3 "Apollodorus" to "Aral" by Various