OSS-tee-a Surface pores on a sponge. 515

a series of tiny pores all over the body of a sponge that let water into the sponge. One of these is called an ostium.

(ostium pl.)Opening in a tubular organ or between two cavities. image

a port city located on the Mediterranean coast near Rome; at this port, trading goods were easily loaded and unloaded at Ostia; from there, ships moved the goods to and from Rome on the Tiber River.

Ostia is a large neighborhood in the comune of Rome, Italy, on the coast facing the Tyrrhenian Sea. Ostia (called also Ostia Lido or Lido di Roma) is also the only municipio of Rome on the Tyrrhenian Sea and this is why most of the Romans go there to spend the summer holidays. It is in fact part of Rome comune in the XIII Municipio.