The Collaborative International Dictionary
Plasmodium \Plas*mo"di*um\, n.; pl. Plasmodia. [NL. See Plasma.]
(Biol.) A jellylike mass of free protoplasm, without any union of am[oe]boid cells, and endowed with life and power of motion.
(Zo["o]l.) A naked mobile mass of protoplasm, formed by the union of several am[oe]balike young, and constituting one of the stages in the life cycle of Mycetozoa and other low organisms.
Wiktionary
n. (plural of plasmodium English)
WordNet
n. multinucleate sheet of cytoplasm characteristic of some stages of such organisms as slime molds
parasitic protozoan of the genus Plasmodium that causes malaria in humans [syn: Plasmodium vivax, malaria parasite]
[also: plasmodia (pl)]
See plasmodium
Usage examples of "plasmodia".
In a heavily infected person, the number of plasmodia present can be as high as 2 million per milliliter.