MICELLA

(Lat.), n. f. pi. Mia(me)-se!1l(keI'l>'le(la3-e!>). Dim. of mica, a crumb. One of the crystalline particles composing, according to Nageli, the solid constituents of all organized bodies. Each m. is surrounded by a film of water which prevents contact with other micellae, and each is supposed to be an aggregation of molecules which may diminish or increase in size without undergoing chemical change. [B, 229, 291 (a, 35).] Cf. ATOM, MOLECULE, MICELLAR aggregate, and PLEON. [s. 776]