Crossword clues for plasmodium
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.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
1871, Modern Latin, coined 1863 in Germany from plasma + -odium, from Greek -odes "like" (see -oid).
Wiktionary
n. (context biology English) A mass of cytoplasm, containing many nucleus, created by the aggregation of amoeboid cells of slime molds during their vegetative phase.
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)]
Wikipedia
Plasmodium is a genus of parasitic protozoa, many of which cause malaria in their hosts. The parasite always has two hosts in its life cycle: a Dipteran insect host and a vertebrate host. Sexual reproduction always occurs in the insect, making it the definitive host.
The life-cycles of Plasmodium species involve several different stages both in the insect and the vertebrate host. These stages include sporozoites, which are injected by the insect vector into the vertebrate host's blood. Sporozoites infect the host liver, giving rise to merozoites and (in some species) hypnozoites. These move into the blood where they infect red blood cells. In the red blood cells, the parasites can either form more merozoites to infect more red blood cells, or produce gametocytes which are taken up by insects which feed on the vertebrate host. In the insect host, gametocytes merge to sexually reproduce. After sexual reproduction, parasites grow into new sporozoites, which move to the insect's salivary glands, from which they can infect a vertebrate host bitten by the insect.
The genus Plasmodium was first described in 1885. It now contains about 200 species, which are spread across the world where both the insect and vertebrate hosts are present. Four species regularly infect humans, while many others infect birds, reptiles, rodents, and various primates.
A plasmodium is a living structure of cytoplasm that contains many nuclei, rather than being divided into individual cells each with a single nucleus.
Plasmodia are best known from slime molds, but are also found in parasitic Cnidospora, and some algae such as the Chlorarachniophyta.
Usage examples of "plasmodium".
The Plasmodium falciparum strain of malaria, which included among its symptoms severe headaches, could be quickly fatal Not treated properly .
In a heavily infected person, the number of plasmodia present can be as high as 2 million per milliliter.