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tetrahymena

[te-truh-hahy-muh-nuh]
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noun Biology.
  1. any ciliated protozoan of the genus Tetrahymena, a relative of the paramecium: often used in genetics research.
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Origin of tetrahymena

< New Latin (1940); see tetra-, hymen, -a2; so named from the four membranous ciliary organelles that characterized a cytostomal pattern exemplified by this genus
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018