Plasmodium

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  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 vivax}, {malaria
          parasite}]
       [also: {plasmodia} (pl)]