plasmodium

2 definitions found

plasmodium - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Plasmodium \Plas*mo"di*um\, n.; pl. Plasmodia. [NL. See
     Plasma.]
     1. (Biol.) A jellylike mass of free protoplasm, without any
        union of am[oe]boid cells, and endowed with life and power
        of motion.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Zool.) 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.
        [1913 Webster]
        [1913 Webster]

plasmodium - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  plasmodium
      n 1: multinucleate sheet of cytoplasm characteristic of some
           stages of such organisms as slime molds
      2: parasitic protozoan of the genus Plasmodium that causes
         malaria in humans [syn: plasmodium, Plasmodium vivax,
         malaria parasite]