karyosome

American

[kar-ee-uh-sohm] / ˈkær i əˌsoʊm /

noun

Cell Biology.

Also called chromocenter. any of several masses of chromatin in the reticulum of a cell nucleus.
a chromosome.

karyosome British

/ ˈkærɪəʊˌsəʊm /

noun

any of the dense aggregates of chromatin in the nucleus of a cell
the nucleus of a cell

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of karyosome

First recorded in 1885–90; karyo- + -some ³

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.

Its most conspicuous feature is the large deeply-staining karyosome, which consists of the greater part of the chromatin of the nucleus intimately bound up with a plastinoid basis.

From Project Gutenberg

The fragments of the karyosome, which are, as it were, squeezed out to the exterior, exert a powerful attraction upon the microgametes, many of which swarm round the now mature megagamete.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023