vorticel

n.; pl. E. Vorticellas L. Vorticellae [ NL., dim. fr. L. vortex. See Vortex. ] (Zool.) Any one of numerous species of ciliated Infusoria belonging to Vorticella and many other genera of the family Vorticellidae. They have a more or less bell-shaped body with a circle of vibrating cilia around the oral disk. Most of the species have slender, contractile stems, either simple or branched. [ 1913 Webster ]