entameba

or ent·a·moe·ba

[en-tuh-mee-buh]

noun, plural ent·a·me·bae [en-tuh-mee-bee] /ˌɛn təˈmi bi/, ent·a·me·bas. Biology.

any protozoan of the genus Entamoeba, members of which are parasitic in vertebrates, including the human pathogens E. gingivalis, found in dental plaque, and E. histolytica, the cause of amebic dysentery.

Compare endameba.

Origin of entameba

From New Latin; see origin at ento-, ameba

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for entamoeba

entamoeba

endamoeba, US entameba or US endameba

noun plural -bae (-biː) or -bas

any parasitic amoeba of the genus Entamoeba (or Endamoeba), esp E. histolytica, which lives in the intestines of man and causes amoebic dysentery

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

entamoeba in Medicine

Entamoeba

n.

A genus of amebas whose members are parasitic in the cecum and large bowel of humans and many mammals and birds. E. histolytica, the only distinct pathogen of the genus, causes amebic dysentery and hepatic amebiasis.

entameba

n.

A parasitic ameba of the genus Entamoeba.