tetrahymena

[ te-truh-hahy-muh-nuh ]

noun

, Biology.

1. any ciliated protozoan of the genus Tetrahymena, a relative of the paramecium: often used in genetics research.

Word History and Origins

Origin of tetrahymena¹

< New Latin (1940); tetra-, hymen, -a ²; so named from the four membranous ciliary organelles that characterized a cytostomal pattern exemplified by this genus