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: Media

biology

Videos

Observe ciliated cells throughout the human respiratory system

Observe ciliated cells throughout the human respiratory system

Ciliated cells of the human respiratory tract

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

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

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

Learn about the coordinated beating of cilia, which propel protozoans through water.

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

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

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

See how coral organisms sweep water into turbulent patterns with their cilia, drawing...

Video: © Massachusetts Institute of Technology (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

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

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

Paramecia and other single-celled organisms in pond water.

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Analyze the structure and motion of cilia and flagella

Analyze the structure and motion of cilia and flagella

Learn about the structure and movement of cilia and flagella.

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Images

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.

The protozoan called paramecium swims freely in its search for food such as bacteria....

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

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

Cilia (yellow) in the oviduct of a rabbit; a false-colour scanning electron micrograph...

Professor P. Motta, Dept. of Anatomy, University La Sapienza, Rome—Science Photo Library/Photo Researchers

eukaryotic cell

eukaryotic cell

Cutaway drawing of a eukaryotic cell.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

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