plasmodium Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun multinucleate sheet of cytoplasm characteristic of some stages of such organisms as slime molds
noun parasitic protozoan of the genus Plasmodium that causes malaria in humans
Plasmodium vivax; malaria parasite.

NL. See Plasma.

plural Plasmodia

(Biol.) A jellylike mass of free protoplasm, without any union of amoeboid cells, and endowed with life and power of motion.
(Zoöl.) A naked mobile mass of protoplasm, formed by the union of several amoebalike young, and constituting one of the stages in the life cycle of Mycetozoa and other low organisms. (a) a genus of microorganisms (b) an individual malarial parasite cell.