contractile vacuole

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noun Cell Biology.

a membrane-enveloped cellular organelle, found in many microorganisms, that periodically expands, filling with water, and then contracts, expelling its contents to the cell exterior: thought to be important in maintaining hydrostatic equilibrium.

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Origin of contractile vacuole

First recorded in 1875–80

Words nearby contractile vacuole

contracted, contracted kidney, contracted pelvis, contract furniture, contractile, contractile vacuole, contractility, contraction, contraction joint, contractive, contract labor

How to use contractile vacuole in a sentence

This is done by pulsation of the vacuole, which ultimately bursts, passing fluid waste to the outside.
A Civic Biology|George William Hunter
These masses of food seem to be inclosed within a little area containing fluid, called a vacuole.
A Civic Biology|George William Hunter
Waste nitrogenous products formed within the cell when work is done are passed out by means of the contractile vacuole.
A Civic Biology|George William Hunter
In another one-celled animal called vorticella, part of the cell has become elongated and is contractile.
A Civic Biology|George William Hunter

The body of the Uterus is formed of a very dense, gray colored, muscular substance, possessing astonishing contractile power.
The Matron's Manual of Midwifery, and the Diseases of Women During Pregnancy and in Childbed|Frederick Hollick