sporocyst

[ spawr-uh-sist, spohr- ]

noun

, Biology.

1. a walled body resulting from the multiple division of a sporozoan, which produces one or more sporozoites.
2. a stage in development of trematodes that gives rise, asexually, to cercaria.

sporocyst

/ ˈspɒ-; ˈspɔːrəʊˌsɪst /

noun

1. a thick-walled rounded structure produced by sporozoan protozoans, in which sporozoites are formed
2. the saclike larva of a trematode worm that produces redia larvae by asexual reproduction
3. any similar structure containing spores

Other Words From

• spo·ro·cys·tic [spawr-, uh, -, sis, -tik, spohr-], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sporocyst¹

First recorded in 1860–65; sporo- + -cyst

Example Sentences

Within this snail—Linnæa truncatula—the egg develops into a sac-like body, called a sporocyst.

From Project Gutenberg

We sometimes find the cercarian age passed over, and the young distomes appear abundantly without tails in the sporocyst.

From Project Gutenberg

We may give more than one description of the distomian embryo as it leaves its sporocyst.

From Project Gutenberg

When stripped of their swimming tunic, these young distomes have the form of a bag, which for a long time was called a sporocyst.

From Project Gutenberg

The embryo, having long cili in front, and in the interior a sporocyst already full of young cercari, is shown in Fig. 44.

From Project Gutenberg