1. Plural of blepharoplast; basal bodies or centriole-like organelles found in certain protozoans and flagellated organisms, associated with the base of flagella or cilia.
Usage: biology; technical; chiefly used in protozoology and cell biology

Examples

• The blepharoplasts of the flagellate organism serve as anchoring points for the flagella.
• Under the electron microscope, researchers observed the blepharoplasts at the base of each cilium.
• The arrangement of blepharoplasts in this protozoan species is characteristic of its taxonomic group.
• Blepharoplasts function similarly to centrioles in organizing the cytoskeleton of these cells.