cyst
/sɪst
/noun
1 Biology A thin-walled hollow organ or cavity in an animal or plant, containing a liquid secretion; a sac, vesicle, or bladder.In the lumen of the cysts, eosinophilic or blue secretions were frequently seen, with sometimes targetoid secretion....
- The epithelial cells lining the cyst contained abundant mucin vacuoles that filled the cytoplasm of the luminal half of the cells.
2 Medicine A membranous sac or cavity of abnormal character in the body, containing fluid.We removed an aspergilloma located in the right lower lobe of the lung in a 48-year-old woman with a bronchial cyst and rheumatoid arthritis....
- Sometimes a thin needle is used to puncture the cyst and take out fluid to test for the Echinococcus infection.
- The walls of the cysts were mostly membranous with variable thickness.
Synonyms
growth, abscess, boil, blister, bleb, wen, carbuncle
technical vesicle, vesication, hydatid, oocyst, saccule, steatoma
3A tough protective capsule enclosing the larva of a parasitic worm or the resting stage of an organism.Resting cysts represent a dormant stage in which normal life processes are greatly reduced....
- The cysts contain tapeworm larvae that develop into adult worms in people who eat under-cooked or raw meat from an infested pig.
- One gram of fecal matter can contain 10 million viruses, one million bacteria, 1,000 parasite cysts, and 100 worm eggs.
Origin
Early 18th century: from late Latin cystis, from Greek kustis 'bladder'.