Xenograft
A surgical graft of tissue from one species to an unlike species (or genus or family). A graft from a baboon to a human is a xenograft.
The prefix “xeno-” means foreign. It comes from the Greek word “xenos” meaning stranger, guest, or host. (Xeno- and xen- are variant forms of the same prefix.)
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- Xenotransplantation
Transplantation from one species to another (for example, from a baboon to a human).
- Xenotropic virus
A virus that can grow in the cells of a species foreign to the normal host species, a species different from that which normally hosts it. Xeno- means foreign while -tropic refers to growth. So xeno- + -tropic = capable of growing in a foreign environment.
- Xeric
Characterized by a scanty supply of moisture (or tolerating or adapted to dry conditions). The word “xeric” is derived from “xeros,” the Greek word for “dry.” “Xeric” was coined in 1926 and was in common scientific usage by the 1940s.
- Xero-
Prefix indicating dryness, as in xeroderma (dry skin).
- Xeroderma
Abnormally dry skin. Xeroderma can be caused by a deficiency of vitamin A, systemic illness (such as hypothyroidism or Sjogren’s syndrome), overexposure to sunlight, and medication. Xeroderma can usually be addressed with the use of over-the-counter topical preparations.