melanocyte
1
8.5
- noun
- /ˈmɛlənoʊˌsaɪt/
- Specialized
:
melanocito
- The central process in vitiligo is the destruction of melanocytes at the dermo-epidermal junction.
- melanocyte-specific
And we found that the Jack stat pathway plays a really important role in autoimmune mediation of melanocyte death.
- And we found that the Jack stat pathway plays a really important role in autoimmune mediation of melanocyte death.
Examples
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Long-term abuse may speed the aging and loss of melanocytes, cells that give hair its pigment.
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Vitiligo vulgaris is a skin condition characterized by patches of skin losing their pigmentation due to the destruction of the pigment-producing melanocytes.
Academic text (2007) -
A lot of melanocytes means a brown eye.
Blog text (33) -
This enzyme is essential for melanocytes to form melanin.
Academic text (2008) -
And so there's some cells in your skin called melanocytes that produce more melanin when UV rays hit your skin.
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If an eye gets pigment at all, it's due to melanocytes—special cells that pump out the pigment melanin.
Blog text (33) -
In the top layer of your skin, the epidermis, special cells called melanocytes make a dark brown substance called melanin.
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Each year, doctors diagnose more than 50,000 new cases of melanoma, which originates in the skin pigment cells called melanocytes.
Compounds
- Specialized
A chemical made by a gland in the brain that controls skin color by acting on cells that make pigment
Surface Forms
Morphology
melanocyte = melanin (semi-transparent) = melano + cyte
Formed from the combining form 'melan(o)-' (relating to melanin) plus '-cyte' meaning 'cell'; the components indicate a cell related to melanin but are specialized scientific combining forms not familiar to average learners.
Etymology
The word melanocyte comes from Greek words melano- meaning 'black' and -cyte meaning 'cell'. So a melanocyte is a skin cell that makes the dark pigment melanin, which gives skin its color.