exocytosis

[ ek-soh-sahy-toh-sis ]

/ ˌɛk soʊ saɪˈtoʊ sɪs /

noun Physiology.

the transport of material out of a cell by means of a sac or vesicle that first engulfs the material and then is extruded through an opening in the cell membrane (distinguished from endocytosis).

Nearby words

exocrine, exocrine gland, exocrinology, exocuticle, exocytose, exocytosis, exod., exoderm, exodermis, exodeviation, exodontia

Origin of exocytosis

1960–65; exo- + -cyte + -osis; cf. endocytosis

Related forms

ex·o·cy·tot·ic

[ek-soh-sahy-tot-ik] /ˌɛk soʊ saɪˈtɒt ɪk/, adjective

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

British Dictionary definitions for exocytosis

exocytosis

/ (ˌɛksəʊsaɪˈtəʊsɪs) /

noun

a process by which material is exported from a biological cell

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

Medicine definitions for exocytosis

exocytosis

[ ĕk′sō-sī-tō′sĭs ]

n. pl. ex•o•cy•to•ses (-sēz′)

The appearance of migrating inflammatory cells in the epidermis.

A process of cellular secretion or excretion in which substances contained in vesicles are discharged from the cell by fusion of the vesicular membrane with the outer cell membrane.emiocytosis