Barr body

[bahr]

noun

a condensed, inactivated X chromosome present in most female mammals in the nuclei of all cells except the germ cells: used, as in sports competitions, to verify that an individual is genetically female.

Origin of Barr body

1960–65; after Murray L. Barr (born 1908), Canadian physician

Also called sex chromatin.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

barr body in Medicine

Barr body

[bär]

n.

The condensed, inactive, single X-chromosome found in the nuclei of somatic cells of most female mammals and whose presence is the basis of sex determination tests that are performed, for example, on athletes.sex chromatin