epiboly

American  

[ih-pib-uh-lee] / ɪˈpɪb ə li /

noun

Embryology.

• epibolies
  plural

1. the movement and spreading out of cells into sheets of tissue that overlie or surround other groups of cells, especially as in the formation of certain gastrulas.

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epiboly British  

/ ɪˈpɪbəlɪ /

noun

1. embryol a process that occurs during gastrulation in vertebrates, in which cells on one side of the blastula grow over and surround the remaining cells and yolk and eventually form the ectoderm

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• epibolic
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• epibolies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of epiboly

1870–75; < Greek epibolḗ a throwing on, equivalent to epi- epi- + bol- (variant stem of bállein to throw) + -ē noun suffix

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

epiboly

She had memorized a phrase: cleavage; epiboly, and organogenesis.

From "Son" by Lois Lowry