SPOROZOON Meaning and
Definition
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A sporozoon is a basic, parasitic, single-celled microorganism belonging to the phylum Apicomplexa. It is characterized by its unique mode of reproduction involving the formation of specialized structures known as sporozoites. Sporozoans are typically found in diverse habitats, including aquatic and terrestrial environments, and are known to infect a wide range of organisms, including animals, plants, and even humans.
These microscopic parasites possess a complex life cycle that typically involves both sexual and asexual stages, often requiring multiple hosts to complete their life cycle successfully. Sporozoans are usually transmitted through vectors such as insects or other intermediate hosts that facilitate their movement between different hosts.
Under the microscope, sporozoans appear as non-motile cells with distinctive features like apical complexes and complex, membranous organelles that aid in cell attachment and invasion of host cells. To propagate, sporozoans undergo stages of asexual reproduction where they divide and multiply within host cells.
Sporozoans are well-known for causing diseases in humans and animals, including malaria, toxoplasmosis, and coccidiosis. The pathogenicity of sporozoans lies in their ability to invade and replicate within the host's tissues, leading to various symptoms and health complications. Consequently, the study of sporozoans plays a crucial role in understanding the biology of parasitic diseases and developing strategies for their prevention and treatment.
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An individual sporozoan organism.
A practical medical dictionary. By Stedman, Thomas Lathrop. Published 1920.
Common Misspellings for SPOROZOON
- aporozoon
- zporozoon
- xporozoon
- dporozoon
- eporozoon
- wporozoon
- soorozoon
- slorozoon
- s-orozoon
- s0orozoon
- spirozoon
- spkrozoon
- splrozoon
- spprozoon
- sp0rozoon
- sp9rozoon
- spoeozoon
- spodozoon
- spofozoon
- spotozoon
Etymology of SPOROZOON
The word sporozoon has its origins in Greek. It is formed from the combination of two Greek words: sporos, meaning seed or spore, and zoon, meaning animal.
