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Protoplasm - Dictionary Definition and Overview |
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Protoplasm : (noun)
1: the living substance of a cell (including cytoplasm and
nucleus) [syn: living substance]
Based on WordNet 2.0
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Protoplasm : \Pro"to*plasm\, n. [Proto- _ Gr. ? form, fr. ? to
mold.] (Biol.)
The viscid and more or less granular material of vegetable
and animal cells, possessed of vital properties by which the
processes of nutrition, secretion, and growth go forward; the
so-called `` physical basis of life;'' the original cell
substance, cytoplasm, cytoblastema, bioplasm sarcode, etc.
Note: The lowest forms of animal and vegetable life
(unicellular organisms) consist of simple or unaltered
protoplasm; the tissues of the higher organisms, of
differentiated protoplasm.
Based on WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003)
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