sporocyst

American  

[spawr-uh-sist, spohr-] / ˈspɔr əˌsɪst, ˈspoʊr- /

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.

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sporocyst British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• sporocystic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of sporocyst

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

Example Sentences

The period of development varies from ten to twenty weeks; each sporocyst may give rise to from five to eight redia and each redia to from twelve to twenty cercaria.

From Common Diseases of Farm Animals by Craig, R. A., D. V. M.

The sporocyst, as it is now called, develops into a third generation known as redia which escape from the cyst.

From Common Diseases of Farm Animals by Craig, R. A., D. V. M.

The sporocyst generally develops from an egg, but in its turn produces other larvæ by internal budding, or by the subdivision of a part or all of its contents into a number of minute germs.

From The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary Section S by Project Gutenberg