Plasmodium
noun
noun ·4 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A mass of cytoplasm, containing many nuclei, created by the aggregation of amoeboid cells of slime molds during their vegetative phase.
- 2 parasitic protozoan of the genus Plasmodium that causes malaria in humans wordnet
- 3 multinucleate sheet of cytoplasm characteristic of some stages of such organisms as slime molds wordnet
Example
More examples"The report warns that the parasite Plasmodium falciparum — which causes the most lethal form of human malaria — is becoming resistant to the first-choice drug, DHA-piperaquine, in parts of Southeast Asia, with patients seeing a failure rate of 50 percent or more."
Etymology
From German Plasmodium, from Latin plasma.