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Glite Dictionary
trypsinogen

trypsinogen

9.9
A substance made by the pancreas that becomes a digestive enzyme in the small intestine
  • noun
  • /traɪˈpsɪnədʒən/
  • Specialized
: tripsinógeno
  • The pancreas releases trypsinogen into the digestive tract, where it is activated to trypsin.

Examples

  • The pancreas secretes trypsinogen into the small intestine.

  • Low levels of trypsinogen in the blood can indicate pancreatic disease.

  • Researchers studied the genetic mutations affecting trypsinogen production in hereditary pancreatitis.

  • Did you know that trypsinogen is an inactive enzyme?

  • The pancreas releases trypsinogen into the digestive tract, where it is activated to trypsin.

  • Researchers studied the genetic mutations affecting trypsinogen production in hereditary pancreatitis.

  • Low levels of trypsinogen in the blood can indicate pancreatic disease.

Surface Forms

trypsinogen singular
trypsinogens plural

Morphology

trypsinogen = trypsin (semi-transparent) = trypsin + ogen

The relation to 'trypsin' is clear, but the technical combining suffix '-ogen' (meaning precursor) is specialized and may be unknown to general learners.

Etymology

The word trypsinogen begins with trypsin, a digestive protein that 'breaks down' other proteins, and ends with -ogen, which means 'that which becomes' or 'to produce', like in the word 'generate'. So, trypsinogen is the inactive form the pancreas makes that later becomes active trypsin in the small intestine.