contractile vacuole
Cellular water pump
A contractile vacuole is a specialized organelle in single-celled freshwater organisms that regulates water balance.
It collects excess water that enters the cell through osmosis, then contracts to expel it, preventing the cell from bursting.
Found in protists like amoebas and paramecia, it functions as a primitive pump: The contractile vacuole pulsed rhythmically under the microscope.
Ciliated slipper-shaped protozoan
- amoebaShape-shifting single-celled organism
- euglenaPlant-animal hybrid microbe
- vorticellaStalked, bell-shaped ciliate
- flagellatesWhips harshly, often ritually
Non-saline aquatic environment
- pond waterLiquid in small pools
- aquatic habitatWater-based living environment
- environmental stressPressure on natural systems
Increase in scope
- fillingMaterial placed within
- emptyingRemoving all contents
- pulsationRhythmic expansion and contraction
- diastoleCardiac relaxation phase
systole · exocytosis · discharge · aquaporins
paramecium
Ciliated slipper-shaped protozoan
- amoebaShape-shifting single-celled organism
- euglenaPlant-animal hybrid microbe
- vorticellaStalked, bell-shaped ciliate
osmoregulation
Maintaining internal solute balance
- waste removalEliminating unwanted materials
freshwater
Non-saline aquatic environment
- pond waterLiquid in small pools
- aquatic habitatWater-based living environment
- environmental stressPressure on natural systems
expansion
Increase in scope
- fillingMaterial placed within
- emptyingRemoving all contents
- pulsationRhythmic expansion and contraction
diastole · systole · exocytosis · discharge · aquaporins
ampullae
Small rounded vessels
- vesiclesSmall enclosed sacs
- organellesmitochondria, mitochondrion, chloroplast, nucleus, lysosome
- microbe partscytoplasm, nucleus, cell membrane, flagellum, flagella
- Osmoregulationosmoregulation, osmosis, osmotic pressure, water balance, electrolyte balance
- protist structuresflagellum, pellicle, nucleus, cell body, eyespot
- vesiclesvesicle, endosome, lysosome, endosomes, lysosomes
- muscle systemmuscle, biceps, triceps, deltoid, deltoids
vacuum, contraction, contracted, contractor, contracts, contracting, contractors, contractual, contractions