A coenocyte (from Greek: κοινός (koinós) = "common" + κύτος (kýtos) = "box, i.e. cell") is a multinucleate cell which can result from multiple nuclear divisions without their accompanying cytokinesis, in contrast to a syncytium, which results from cellular aggregation followed by dissolution of the cell membranes inside the mass. The word syncytium in animal embryology is used to refer to the coenocytic blastoderm of invertebrates.