Advertisement

Advertisement

pinocytosis

[pin-uh-sahy-toh-sis, pahy-nuh-]

noun

Physiology.
  1. the transport of fluid into a cell by means of local infoldings by the cell membrane so that a tiny vesicle or sac forms around each droplet, which is then taken into the interior of the cytoplasm.

    Some drugs, such as penicillin, are unable to cross biological barriers unless they make use of carrier proteins or are taken across by pinocytosis.



Discover More

Other Word Forms

  • pinocytotic adjective
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of pinocytosis1

First recorded in 1895–1900; from Greek pín(ein) “to drink” + -o- + -cyte + -osis, on the model of phagocytosis
Discover More

Compare Meanings

How does pinocytosis compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Microglia can remove such waste from the parenchyma through specialized endocytic processes called phagocytosis and pinocytosis, and the uptake of amyloid-β by microglia seems to be an important means of amyloid-β-aggregate degradation.

Read more on Nature

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


pinocytosepinole