exocytosis

[ ek-soh-sahy-toh-sis ]

/ ˌɛk soʊ saɪˈtoʊ sɪs /

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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).

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Origin of exocytosis

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

OTHER WORDS FROM exocytosis

ex·o·cy·tot·ic

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

Words nearby exocytosis

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

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

Medical 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