A comprehensive glossary of ciliate terms can be found in the book "The Ciliated Protozoa. Characterization, Classification and Guide to the Literature" by John O. Corliss (1979)
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adoral zone of membranelles (AZM) - serial arrangement of ciliary membranelles associated with the left side of the oral region, particularly in heterotrich and spirotrich ciliates.
buccal cavity - pouch or depression in the body surface that contains the oral ciliary structures and leads to the cytostome; see also peristome.
cirrus (pl., cirri) - group(s) of cilia fused into a tuft and functioning as a single unit whose kinetosomes are linked by filaments; especially characteristic of hypotrich and stichotrich ciliates.
cytoproct - cell anus; fixed opening in the pellicle of ciliates through which undigested contents of food vacuoles are egested.
cytostome - cell mouth; the region where food is taken in and food vacuoles are formed.
incertae sedis - uncertainly placed.
kinetodesmal fibril - periodically striated fibrils associated with somatic kinetosomes; typically longitudinally oriented and overlapping kinetodesma (pl., kinetodesmata).kinetosome - tubular cylinder of 9 triplets of microtubules; homologue of centriole; at base of a cilium just beneath the surface of the organism.
kinety - single file or row of somatic kinetosomes and their fibrillar associates (e.g. kinetodesmal fibrils).
lotic - pertaining to environments of flowing water.
moniliform - consisting of a series of bead-like swellings (e.g. the chain-like macronuclei of certain heterotrich ciliates).myoneme - a fibrillar contractile element or fiber in the cytoplasm.
opisthe - posterior filial cell in an asexually dividing ciliate. See also proter.
pellicle - outer portion of cell body of ciliates, including the cell or plasma membrane, subjacent alveoli, and epiplasm with its associated microtubules.
peristome - region surrounding the cytostome and buccal cavity; the peristome may extend out onto the cell surface in heterotrich and peritrich ciliates.
proter - anterior filial cell in an asexually dividing ciliate; usually the parental cell. See also opisthe.
pyriform - pear-shaped.
tripartite ciliary complex - See adoral zone of membranelles (AZM).