Definition of "plasmodium" []

• A multinucleate mass of cytoplasm formed by the aggregation of a number of amoeboid cells, as that characteristic of the vegetative phase of the slime molds. (noun)
• A protozoan of the genus Plasmodium, which includes the parasites that cause malaria. (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.

• "Malaria is caused by a parasite called plasmodium, which is transmitted by the bites of infected mosquitos."
• "Ms. SONIA SHAH (Author, "The Fever: How Malaria Has Ruled Humankind for 500,000 Years"): Well, the parasite is called plasmodium, and it's protozoan."
• "In 1880, scientists isolated a one-cell parasite called a plasmodium that is the real cause of the disease."