{{Short description|Functional opening in the body of an organism}} {{one source|date=October 2024}} A '''body orifice''' is any opening in the body of an animal.
==External== In a typical mammalian body such as the human body, the external body orifices are:
* The nostrils, for breathing and the associated sense of smell * The mouth, for eating, drinking, breathing, and vocalizations such as speech * The ear canals, for the sense of hearing * The nasolacrimal ducts, to carry tears from the lacrimal sac into the nasal cavity * The anus, for defecation * The urinary meatus, for urination, male ejaculation, and female ejaculation * In females, the vagina, for menstruation, copulation and birth * The nipple orifices
Other animals may have some other body orifices: *cloaca, in birds, reptiles, amphibians, and a few mammals, such as monotremes.<ref name="l924">{{cite journal | last=Hall | first=Margaret I. | last2=Rodriguez-Sosa | first2=José R. | last3=Plochocki | first3=Jeffrey H. | title=Reorganization of mammalian body wall patterning with cloacal septation | journal=Scientific Reports | publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC | volume=7 | issue=1 | date=2017-08-23 | issn=2045-2322 | doi=10.1038/s41598-017-09359-y | doi-access=free | page=| pmc=5569103 }}</ref> *siphon in mollusks, arthropods, and some other animals
==Internal== Internal orifices include the orifices of the outflow tracts of the heart, between the heart valves.
==See also== *Internal urethral orifice *Mucosa *Mucocutaneous boundary *Meatus *Body cavity
== References == {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Body orifice}} Category:Anatomy