Cytogenetics
Cytogenetics: The study of chromosomes, which are the visible carriers of the hereditary material. Cytogenetics is a fusion science, joining cytology (the study of cells) with genetics (the study of inherited variation).
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- Cytogenetics, clinical
Cytogenetics, clinical: The application of chromosome analysis to clinical medicine. For example, clinical cytogenetic testing is done to look for an extra chromosome 21 in a child who is suspected of having Down syndrome.
- Cytokine
Cytokine: A small protein released by cells that has a specific effect on the interactions between cells, on communications between cells or on the behavior of cells. The cytokines includes the interleukins, lymphokines and cell signal molecules, such as tumor necrosis factor and the interferons, which trigger inflammation and respond to infections.
- Cytokinesis
Cytokinesis: 1. During cell division, the process that partitions the cellular contents including the chromosomes, cytoplasm, and organelles into the two daughter cells. Cytokinesis occurs just after the segregation of the duplicated genome. 2. In a more limited sense, the partition of a cell’s cytoplasm into daughter cells. See also: Karyokinesis; Mitosis.
- Cytology
Cytology: The medical and scientific study of cells. Cytology refers to a branch of pathology, the medical specialty that deals with making diagnoses of diseases and conditions through the examination of tissue samples from the body. Cytologic examinations may be performed on body fluids (examples are blood, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid) or on material that […]
- Cytomegalovirus (CMV)
A virus that infects 50-85% of adults in the US by age 40 and is also the virus most frequently transmitted to a child before birth. Persons with symptoms have a mononucleosis-like syndrome with prolonged fever and mild hepatitis. Once a person becomes infected, the virus remains alive and usually dormant within that person’s body […]