basal body: Meaning and Definition of

ba'sal bod"y

Pronunciation: [key]
— Cell Biol. Cell Biol.
  1. a cylindrical organelle, within the cytoplasm of flagellated and ciliated cells, that contains microtubules and forms the base of a flagellum or cilium: identical in internal structure to a centriole.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.