[spawr-uh-zoh-uh
n, spohr-] 
| 1. | any parasitic spore-forming protozoan of the phylum (or class) Sporozoa, several species of which, as plasmodia, cause malaria. |
| 2. | Also, spo⋅ro⋅zo⋅al. belonging or pertaining to the Sporozoa. |
| spo·ro·zo·an (spôr'ə-zō'ən, spōr'-) n. Any of numerous parasitic protozoans of the class Sporozoa, most of which reproduce sexually and asexually in alternate generations by means of spores. They are frequently transmitted by bloodsucking insects to different hosts, where they cause many serious diseases, such as malaria and coccidiosis. [From New Latin Sporozōa, class name : sporo- + -zōa, pl. of -zōon, -zoon.] spo'ro·zo'an adj. |
sporozoan spo·ro·zo·an (spôr'ə-zō'ən) or spo·o·zo·on (-ŏn', -ən)
n.
An organism of the class Sporozoa.
| sporozoan (spôr'ə-zō'ən) Pronunciation Key
Any of numerous parasitic protozoans now classified as apicomplexans. |
sporozoan
any protozoan of the (typically) spore-producing phylum Apicomplexa, which is called by some authorities Sporozoa. All apicomplexans are parasitic and lack contractile vacuoles and locomotor processes. Apicomplexans live within the body cavities or the cells of almost every kind of animal, including other apicomplexans. Some genera are pathogenic: Plasmodium causes malaria, and Eimeria and Isospora cause coccidiosis. Apicomplexans feed by absorbing either dissolved food ingested by the host (saprozoic nutrition) or the host's cytoplasm and body fluids. Respiration and excretion occur by simple diffusion through the cell membrane. In the life cycle, sexual and asexual generations may alternate. Sexual reproduction may immediately precede spore formation. Asexual reproduction is by binary or multiple fission (schizogony).
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