Cylinder block

![De Dion-Bouton engine with discrete crankcase but with monobloc integration of the cylinders and heads, circa 1905. A discrete crankcase with upper and lower halves (each its own casting) can clearly be seen, with the bottom half constituting both part of the main bearing support and also an oil sump.[1]](/uploads/202502/20/De_Dion-Bouton_engine_(Rankin_Kennedy,_Modern_Engines,_Vol_III)3903.jpg)
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A cylinder block is an integrated structure comprising the cylinder(s) of a reciprocating engine and often some or all of their associated surrounding structures (coolant passages, intake and exhaust passages and ports, and crankcase). The term engine block is often used synonymously with "cylinder block" (although technically distinctions can be made between en bloc cylinders as a discrete unit versus engine block designs with yet more integration that comprise the crankcase as well).