Rhætic (retik)

[Also Rhetic; rhætizite (rē'ti-zīt), n. [Prop. * Rhæticite, irreg. Also Rheto - Romanic . switch.] 1. A sponge-spicule of the monaxon biradiate type; a simple straight spicule. There are several kinds of rhabdi, named according to their end crack of the skin, ῥηγνύναι , ῥαγῆναι , break: see ings. A rhabdus sharp at both ends is an oxea ; blunt at both ends, a strongyle ; knobbed at both ends, a tylote ; knobbed at one end and pointed at the other, a tylotoxea ; blunt at one end and sharp at the other, a strongyloxea . The last two forms are scarcely distinguishable from the stylus.