pachytene

[pak-i-teen]

noun Cell Biology.

the third stage of prophase in meiosis, during which each chromosome pair separates into sister chromatids with some breakage and crossing over of genes.

Also pach·y·ne·ma

[pak-uh-nee-muh] /ˌpæk əˈni mə/.

Origin of pachytene

< French pachytène (1900), equivalent to Greek pachý(s) thick + -tène -tene

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

British Dictionary definitions for pachytene

pachytene

noun

the third stage of the prophase of meiosis during which the chromosomes become shorter and thicker and divide into chromatids

Word Origin for pachytene

from Greek pakhus thick + tainia band

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

pachytene in Medicine

pachytene

[păk′ĭ-tēn′]

The third stage of the prophase of meiosis during which the homologous chromosomes become short and thick and divide into four distinct chromatids.