Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
polyoma

polyoma

9.9
A virus that can cause tumors in animals such as mice and that scientists study in cancer research
  • noun
  • /ˌpɒliˈoʊmə/
  • Specialized
translation icon : poliomavirus
  • The polyoma virus is significant in cancer research due to its ability to initiate tumors in mice.
  • polyoma-type viruses

Examples

  • During the experiment, scientists observed how the polyoma virus affected mouse cells.

  • By contrast, an equivalent experiment performed with unmodified vaccinia virus (a strain that does not express the polyoma epitope) showed no difference between the two groups.

    Academic text (2018)

  • Researchers study the polyoma virus to understand its role in tumor development.

Synonyms

polyoma virus
vspolyoma
  • Specialized
7.4

A virus that causes tumors in animals and scientists use in cancer research

focuses on initiating tumors especially in mice and on cancer research

Compounds

polyoma virus
  • Specialized
7.4

A virus that causes tumors in animals and scientists use in cancer research

Surface Forms

polyoma singular
polyomas plural

Morphology

polyoma = poly + oma

Although the term is built from classical morphemes meaning roughly 'many tumors', its virological sense is not directly recoverable for an average learner without specialist knowledge.

Etymology

Polyoma is made of the parts poly- meaning 'many' and -oma meaning 'tumor', the same ending you see in melanoma. So polyoma names a virus known for causing many different tumors.