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.

Other Word Forms

• pinocytotic adjective

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