heterologous
Americanadjective
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Biology. of different origin; pertaining to heterology.
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Medicine/Medical, Pathology. consisting of dissimilar tissue, as that of another species or that of a tumor.
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Immunology. pertaining to an antigen that elicits a reaction in a nonspecific antibody.
adjective
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pathol of, relating to, or designating cells or tissues not normally present in a particular part of the body
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(esp of parts of an organism or of different organisms) differing in structure or origin
Other Word Forms
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A. nidulans has been modified by researchers to be a model fungal species for this technique, dubbed "heterologous expression."
From Science Daily ● Nov. 21, 2023
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
A: The studies of heterologous prime-boosts in Europe earlier this year suggested that mixed vaccines can still deliver good protection against COVID-19.
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
In a narrower sense of the word heterologous new formations are alone destructive.
From The World's Greatest Books — Volume 15 — Science by Hammerton, John Alexander, Sir
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
