Cell Component
extracellular vesicle
ex·tra·cel·lu·lar ves·i·cle
Subclass of:
Extracellular Space
Definitions related to extracellular vesicles:
  • Any vesicle that is part of the extracellular region.
    Gene Ontology Dictionary
    Gene Ontology Consortium, 2021
  • Bilayer membrane fragments present in the blood plasma that are released by different cell types upon activation or death. Extracellular vesicles are usually classified as either exosomes (formed by the membranes of intracellular compartments, 50-100 nm in diameter) and ectosomes (also called microparticles or microvesicles, formed from plasma membrane, 100-1000 nm in diameter).
    NCI
    U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
  • Membrane limited structures derived from cell membranes and cytoplasmic material, and released into EXTRACELLULAR SPACE. They circulate through the EXTRACELLULAR FLUID and through the peripheral blood in the MICROVASCULATURE where cells, much larger, cannot, thereby affecting a variety of intercellular communication processes.
    NLM Medical Subject Headings
    U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2025
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