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

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

Dr Gao confirmed their effective proton pump capabilities, even at low temperatures, using electrophysiological methods after heterologous expression.

From Science Daily • Oct. 16, 2023

The blog post references a study published in August in the journal Frontiers in Immunology, “BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccination in children alters cytokine responses to heterologous pathogens and Toll-like receptor agonists.”

From Seattle Times • Sep. 15, 2023

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

All new formations built of cells which continue true to the parent type we may call homologous new formations; while those which depart from the parent type or undergo degenerative changes we may designate heterologous.

From The World's Greatest Books — Volume 15 — Science by Hammerton, John Alexander, Sir