Definition of Phagocytosis
1. Noun. Process in which phagocytes engulf and digest microorganisms and cellular debris; an important defense against infection.
Definition of Phagocytosis
1. [n -TOSES]
Medical Definition of Phagocytosis
1.
| Endocytosis of particulate material, such as microorganisms or cell fragments. The material is taken into the cell in membrane bound vesicles (phagosomes) that originate as pinched off invaginations of the plasma membrane. Phagosomes fuse with lysosomes, forming phagolysosomes in which the engulfed material is killed and digested.
Origin: L. Phagedaena, Gr Phago, To eat.
This entry appears with permission from the Dictionary of Cell and Molecular Biology
(11 Mar 2008)
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Lexicographical Neighbors of Phagocytosis
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