- micropore
- An organelle formed by the pellicle of all stages of sporozoan protozoa of the subphylum Apicomplexa and also found in developmental stages that may lack the inner pellicle layer; it is composed of two concentric rings (in transverse section), the inner of which corresponds with an invagination of the outer pellicle membrane. Micorpores thus far observed seem to serve as feeding organelles; their role in nonfeeding developmental forms is unknown. [micro- + G. poros, pore]
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mi·cro·pore (miґkro-por) [micro- + pore] an ultrastructural organelle in the side of the body of apicocomplexan protozoa, consisting of a cytoplasmic ring or cylinder formed by invagination of the outer membrane of the pellicle at the site of a disruption of the inner membrane. Formerly called micropyle.
Medical dictionary. 2011.