heterologous

American  

[het-uh-rol-uh-guhs] / ˌhɛt əˈrɒl ə gəs /

adjective

1. Biology. of different origin; pertaining to heterology.

2. Medicine/Medical, Pathology. consisting of dissimilar tissue, as that of another species or that of a tumor.

3. Immunology. pertaining to an antigen that elicits a reaction in a nonspecific antibody.

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heterologous British  

/ ˌhɛtəˈrɒləɡəs /

adjective

1. pathol of, relating to, or designating cells or tissues not normally present in a particular part of the body

2. (esp of parts of an organism or of different organisms) differing in structure or origin

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heterologous Scientific  

/ hĕt′ə-rŏl′ə-gəs /

1. Derived or transplanted from a different species or source.

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Other Word Forms

• heterology noun

Etymology

Origin of heterologous

1815–25; hetero- + -logous ( see -logy ( def. ), -ous ( def. ) )

Explanation

Heterologous tissue in an organism is tissue that is foreign or taken from a different species. For example, a pig’s heart valve, transplanted into a human, is heterologous. But so are the cells of a tumor, because they’re foreign organic material. There’s another meaning of heterologous in biology. Heterologous structures in different species are structures that don't have the same evolutionary origin. For example, even though a bird's wing and mosquito's wing are both used for flying and have a similar position on the body, they're heterologous, because they developed along separate evolutionary paths. Heterologous uses the combining form hetero-, meaning "different" or "other," from the Greek heteros.

Example Sentences

"We also intend to obtain these molecules through heterologous expression," said Arantes.

From Science Daily • Nov. 18, 2025

Many fungus strains have been used and selected by the food industry for their capacities to ferment, produce flavors or produce heterologous molecules.

From Science Daily • Oct. 26, 2023

This strategy is technically known as a heterologous prime-boost.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 19, 2021

GOUNDER: We need to talk more about heterologous prime-boost: An adenovirus vaccine followed by an mRNA or adenovirus followed by a protein vaccine—we may well be headed in that direction.

From Scientific American • Aug. 20, 2021

Homologous reactions are arbitrarily valued as 100 per cent, and heterologous reactions are expressed accordingly.

From Myology and Serology of the Avian Family Fringillidae A Taxonomic Study by Stallcup, William B.