[mad-ruh-pawr-ahyt, -pohr-, muh-drep-uh-rahyt] 
| a sievelike plate in certain echinoderms, through which water passes into the vascular system. |
| mad·re·por·ite (mād'rə-pôr'īt, -pōr'-) n. A perforated platelike structure in most echinoderms that forms the intake for their water-vascular systems. [So called because the perforations resemble those of a madrepore.] |
rəˌpɔr