| eukaryota | | Pleated tube or vase shape |
| myocyte | | Channels leading to the interior through the mesohyl |
| endoskeleton | | The cylindrical or conical collar surrounding a flagellum |
| calcarea | | The tail-like structure that projects from the cell body and is used to move water through the sponge body |
| animalia | | Female reproductive cell |
| lophocyte | | In addition to or instead of sclerocytes, demosponges have "blank" that secrete a form of collagen that polymerizes into spongin |
| archeaeocyte | | Silica spicules, never has spongin fibres |
| collencyte | | Tube or vase shape |
| spongin | | Male reproductive cell |
| mesohyl | | Internal support structure |
| ostia | | Means "little mouth" |
| flagellum | | Green algae are this to some sponges |
| syconoid | | Phylum |
| porifera | | No spongin, may have an asconoid, syconoid or leuconoid body shape |
| rhabdiferous | | Tubular cells which make up the pores of a sponge |
| sclerocyte | | Domain |
| hexactinellida | | Conduct signals and cause parts of the animal to contract |
| demospongia | | The gelatinous matrix within a sponge |
| osculum | | Another type of collagen-producing cell |
| endosymbiont | | The single-layered skin over all the parts of the mesohyl not used by porocytes |
| oocyte | | The process by which sclerocytes produce silica spicules |
| spicule | | External skeleton |
| exoskeleton | | Ameba-like cells that are totipotent |
| choanocyte | | Secrete polysaccharides that also form part of the mesohyl |
| biomineralisation | | Exaggerated syconoid shape |
| grey cell | | Act as the immune system |
| pinacocyte | | A type of collagen protein that forms some sponges fibrous skeleton |
| porocyte | | Kingdom |
| spongocyte | | Many species contain spongin fibres |
| spermatocyte | | Secrete the mineralized spicules |
| leuconoid | | Tiny spike-like structures |
| asconoid | | Amoeba-like cells that move slowly through the mesohyl and secrete collagen fibres |