vacuole (redirected from Vacuoles)

vac·u·ole  (vky-l)

n.

A small cavity in the cytoplasm of a cell, bound by a single membrane and containing water, food, or metabolic waste.

---

[French, from Latin vacuus, empty; see vacuum.]

---

vacu·olar (-lr, -lär) adj.

vacu·o·lation n.

---

vacuole  (vky-l)

A cavity within the cytoplasm of a cell, surrounded by a single membrane and containing fluid, food, or metabolic waste. Vacuoles are found in the cells of plants, protists, and some primitive animals. In mature plant cells, there is usually one large vacuole which occupies a large part of the cell's volume and is filled with a liquid called cell sap. The cell sap stores food reserves, pigments, defensive toxins, and waste products to be expelled or broken down. In the cells of protists, however, there may be many small specialized vacuoles, such as digestive vacuoles for the absorption of captured food and contractile vacuoles for the expulsion of excess water or wastes. See more at cell.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

vacuole - a tiny cavity filled with fluid in the cytoplasm of a cell cell - (biology) the basic structural and functional unit of all organisms; they may exist as independent units of life (as in monads) or may form colonies or tissues as in higher plants and animals bodily cavity, cavum, cavity - (anatomy) a natural hollow or sinus within the body