syncytium

‖n.; pl. Syncitia [ NL., from Gr. &unr_; together + &unr_; a hollow vessel. ] 1. (Biol.) Tissue in which the cell or partition walls are wholly wanting and the cell bodies fused together, so that the tissue consists of a continuous mass of protoplasm in which nuclei are imbedded, as in ordinary striped muscle. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) The ectoderm of a sponge. [ 1913 Webster ]