Definition of "merozoite" [mer•o•zo•ite]

• A protozoan cell that arises from the schizogony of a parent sporozoan and may enter either the asexual or sexual phase of the life cycle. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The new vaccine targets the malaria parasite after it has made its way though the bloodstream and into the liver, where it transforms into a new form called a merozoite, which can infect new red blood cells and cause fever and illness."
• "After invading the erythrocyte, merozoite de-differentiates into a round trophozoite form."
• "The only small problem with Ms. Shah's narrative is the likelihood that if you don't know your falciparum from your vivax and your merozoite from your schizont, you won't be learning it all here."