Definition of "branchial" [bran•chi•al]

• Of, relating to, or resembling the gills of a fish, their homologous embryonic structures, or the derivatives of their homologous parts in higher animals: branchial muscles. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The outlet is sometimes called the branchial pore, and sometimes the cloaca or ejection-aperture."
• "Over these pouches corresponding indentations of the ectoderm occur, forming what are known as the branchial or outer pharyngeal grooves."
• "The _lateral fistula of the neck_ -- formerly described as a branchial fistula -- according to Weglowski, usually takes origin from the remains of the hypoblastic diverticulum, which arises from the pharyngeal part of the third visceral cleft and extends downwards to form the thymus gland."