cilium

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Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

The protozoan called paramecium swims freely in its search for food such as bacteria. It captures the prey with its cilia (also shown enlarged). Enzymes in the food vacuoles digest the prey, and contractile vacuoles expel excess water.

Observe ciliated cells throughout the human respiratory system

Cilia (yellow) in the oviduct of a rabbit; a false-colour scanning electron micrograph at 3,550 magnification

eukaryotic cell

Discover how individual cilia employ viscous drag to coordinate power and recovery strokes for locomotion

Learn how the sweeping motions of coral cilia draw nutrients inward and expel wastes away from the coral

Observe protozoan microorganisms from a drop of pond water under optical and electron microscopes

Analyze the structure and motion of cilia and flagella

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cilium: Facts & Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As	ciliums • cilia • undulipodia

Photos and Videos

The protozoan called paramecium swims freely in its search for food such as bacteria. It captures the prey with its cilia (also shown enlarged). Enzymes in the food vacuoles digest the prey, and contractile vacuoles expel excess water.

Cilia (yellow) in the oviduct of a rabbit; a false-colour scanning electron micrograph at 3,550 magnification

eukaryotic cell

Observe ciliated cells throughout the human respiratory system

Discover how individual cilia employ viscous drag to coordinate power and recovery strokes for locomotion

Learn how the sweeping motions of coral cilia draw nutrients inward and expel wastes away from the coral

Observe protozoan microorganisms from a drop of pond water under optical and electron microscopes

Analyze the structure and motion of cilia and flagella

See All Videos and Images →

Topics

kinocilium membranelle metachronal wave axoneme kinety dynein cell membrane nucleus flagellum protoplasm cytoplasm vacuole plasmodesma organelle stem cell tissue

Quiz

Mechanism of cellular autophagy, illustration for Nobel Prize Award in Medicine 2016. 3D illustration showing fusion of lysosome with autophagosome containing microbes and molecules.

Parts of a Cell Quiz