flagellum /fla·gel·lum/ (flah-jel´um) pl. flagel´la [L.] a long, mobile, whiplike appendage arising from a basal body at the surface of a cell, serving as a locomotor organelle; in eukaryotic cells, flagella contain nine pairs of microtubules arrayed around a central pair; in bacteria, they contain tightly wound strands of flagellin.
flagellum
fla·gel·lum (fl -j l m)n. pl. fla·gel·la (-j l) A threadlike appendage, especially a whiplike extension of certain cells or organisms that functions as an organ of locomotion. fla·gel lar (-jlr) adj. |
flagellum
a long, hairlike projection that extends from some unicellular organisms and from the sperm of animals, algae, and some plants. Flagellar motion is a complex, whiplike undulation that propels cells through a fluid environment.
flagellum
pl. flagella [L.] a long, mobile, whiplike appendage arising from a basal body at the surface of a cell, serving as a locomotor organelle; the only known example in biology of a rotatory motion. In eukaryotic cells, flagella contain nine pairs of microtubules arrayed around a central pair; in bacteria, they contain tightly wound strands of flagellin.
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