flagellum
/fləˈdʒɛləm
/noun (plural flagella /fləˈdʒɛlə/) Biology
A slender thread-like structure, especially a microscopic whip-like appendage which enables many protozoa, bacteria, spermatozoa, etc. to swim.Development of the spermatid flagellum begins immediately after meiosis....
- This study was designed to learn how well the flagella of groups of bacteria might move fluid in a microscopic environment.
- Cilia and flagella are hairlike organelles extending from the cell surface.
Derivatives
flagellar
- In most cases, this was confirmed by the observation of the flagellar axoneme in additional serial sections.
- If you knock out the flagella motor then the flagella is paralysed and flagellar secretion continues, but at reduced rate.
- The flagellar filament, the bacterial organelle of motility, is the smallest rotary propeller known.
flagelliform
Origin
Early 19th century (denoting a whip or scourge): from Latin, diminutive of flagrum 'scourge'.