axostyle Zool.
(ˈæksəʊstaɪl)
[f. axo- + Gr. στῦλ-ος column.]
‘A slender flexible rod of organic substance forming a supporting axis for the body of many Flagellates’ (I. F. & W. D. Henderson, Dict. Sci. Terms, 1920).
| 1964 M. Hynes Med. Bacteriol. (ed. 8) xxviii. 433 The body of the parasite [Trichomonas viginalis] contains an axostyle (stiffening rod) which projects like a tail spine. 1965 New Scientist 15 July 154/2 Some single-celled animals contain a large ribbon-shaped ‘axostyle’, running from one end of the cell to the other, which can bend vigorously. |