basal body

noun

, Cell Biology.

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of basal body¹

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

To counter this gap in education, Kassel encourages people who use withdrawal to also track their ovulation windows and basal body temperatures in order to avoid sex without a barrier during their fertile days.

From Slate

Six years ago, the Health Resources and Services Administration added to its ACA guidelines the fertility-awareness method, which is used to help women avoid pregnancy or become pregnant by tracking markers such as basal body temperature, cervical mucus and hormone levels.

From Washington Times

Meanwhile, I monitored my basal body temperature, weighing motherhood against the seriousness of our courtship.

From Salon

Some offer to track additional data including basal body temperature, sleep patterns, menstrual pain and sexual activity, which can provide further clues - although there have been concerns around what else this data can be used for by the developers of the app.

From BBC

Right now, the app is only cleared to be used as birth control with a basal body temperature thermometer, which tracks smaller temperature increments than a regular thermometer.

From The Verge