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Glite Dictionary
pyknosis

pyknosis

1 9.9
A cell nucleus that becomes smaller and darker when the cell dies
  • noun
  • /pɪkˈnoʊsɪs/
  • Specialized
: píknosis
  • Pathologists observe pyknosis under the microscope when examining samples of dying tissues.

Examples

  • During the cellular degeneration process, nuclear pyknosis can lead to a significant reduction in cell size.

  • In the acute phase, the epidermis is characterized by dyskeratotic cells, exocytosis, edema, nuclear pyknosis, and hydropic degeneration of basal cells.

    Academic text (2007)

  • The presence of pyknosis in tumor cells indicates a progression towards cancerous cell death.

Synonyms

pycnosis
vspyknosis
  • Specialized
9.9

A cell's nucleus becomes small and very dark when the cell dies

has identical meaning but is an alternate spelling used for the same process

How Degenerated

karyolysis
  • Specialized
9.9
pyknosis
  • Specialized
1 9.9

Surface Forms

pyknosis singular
pyknoses plural

Morphology

pyknosis = pykn + osis

Although the word is historically analyzable as a Greek root plus the medical suffix '-osis', the bound root 'pykn' is not a recognizable English base for most learners and the specific medical sense is not inferable by standard English morphology.

Etymology

Pyknosis comes from the Greek word pyknos, meaning 'thick' or 'dense', and the ending -osis, meaning 'a condition'. So pyknosis is the condition when a cell's nucleus becomes very dense and shrinks as the cell dies.