Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🧬 Mixed cells 🌈 A blend
chimerism

chimerism

1 9.9
A body that has cells from two different people or animals in it
  • noun
  • /kaɪˈmɪrɪzəm/
  • Specialized
translation icon : quimerismo
  • Researchers are studying chimerism to learn how it affects genetic diversity and health outcomes in organisms.

Examples

  • As far as the "multiple really rare events" required to produce the cardinal, I think that a much more likely mechanism to produce this bird is chimerism.

    Blog text (8)

  • Now I know nothing about genetics, only what I've been told, which suggests chimerism with all of those unique things going on.

    Blog text (8)

  • Alternative sources for chimerism are blood transfusions and transplantation.

    Academic text (2003)

  • An example of chimerism is when a person has two different blood types due to cells from a twin existing in their body.

  • The doctor explained that chimerism can happen after organ transplants when the recipient's body includes cells from the donor.

Synonyms

chimera
vschimerism
  • Specialized
7 9.7

A living thing made of cells from two different embryos

is the condition describing that genetic mixture rather than the living organism or tissue

Surface Forms

chimerism singular
chimerisms plural

Morphology

chimerism = chimera (transparent) = chimera + ism

Formed from 'chimera' + '-ism' meaning the state or condition of being a chimera; the biological application is specialized but follows the composite notion.

Etymology

Chimerism comes from chimera, a Greek myth creature made of parts of different animals like a lion, a goat and a snake, so the word suggests 'a mix'. In biology, chimerism means one body has cells or tissues from two different genetic sources, which fits the idea of parts from different origins.