Nematocyst

Quick meaning: Nematocyst is a noun meaning (biology) A capsule, in certain cnidarians, containing a barbed, threadlike tube that delivers a paralyzing sting.

Meaning

(biology) A capsule, in certain cnidarians, containing a barbed, threadlike tube that delivers a paralyzing sting.

Example Sentences

Nematocyst discharge is another example of the Rubicon principle – it either fires or it does not.

Often one sees, on surface view, a distinctly rounded vacuole, occupying a position in the cell occupied in others by a large nematocyst.

The young nematocyst decreases in size and becomes coarsely granular, the granules arranging themselves in a spiral line close under the external membrane.

Word Forms

• nematocysts

Synonyms for nematocyst

Depending on context, synonyms include cnidocyte.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include undischarged, cnidocyte, cnidopod, nematocalyx, desmoneme, stenotele.

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