sporozoite

[spawr-uh-zoh-ahyt, spohr-]

noun

1. one of the minute, active bodies into which the spore of certain Sporozoa divides, each developing into an adult individual.

sporozoite

/ ˌspɒ-, ˌspɔːrəˈzəʊaɪt /

noun

1. any of numerous small mobile usually infective individuals produced in sporozoans by sporogony

sporozoite

1. Any of the minute, undeveloped apicomplexans produced by multiple fission of a zygote or spore, especially at the stage just before infection of a new host cell.

Word History and Origins

Origin of sporozoite¹

First recorded in 1885–90; Sporozo(a) + -ite ¹

Example Sentences

A mosquito bite delivers only about 10 “sporozoites,” the form of the parasite that can be transmitted.

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Rather than target the parasite itself, the vaccine targets the sporozoite protein that helps the parasite find the liver.

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R21 and Mosquirix both target the malaria parasite in the sporozoite phase of its life cycle — the phase in which it enters the human body from its mosquito hosts.

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Mosquirix uses a piece of the parasite — a protein found only on sporozoites’ surface — in hopes of blocking the liver stage of infection.

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The bite of an infected mosquito sends immature parasites called sporozoites into the bloodstream.

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