statolith
[stat-l-ith]
- Zoology. any of the granules of lime, sand, etc., contained within a statocyst.
- Botany. an inclusion, as a starch grain, that by a change in position within the cells of an organ or part is assumed to cause a corresponding change in position of the organ or part.
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Origin of statolith
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
statolith
- Also called: otolith any of the granules of calcium carbonate occurring in a statocyst: movement of statoliths, caused by a change in position of the animal, stimulates hair cells, which convey the information to the brain by nerve fibres
- any of various movable inclusions, such as starch grains, that occur in plant cells and are thought to function in geotropic responses
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
statolith
(stăt′l-ĭth′)- A small, movable concretion of calcium carbonate found in statocysts; an otolith.
- statoconium
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.