Cytosome

/ˈsaɪtəsoʊm/ noun

Definition

The cytoplasm-containing body of a cell, or in some contexts, a cytoplast (cell fragment with cytoplasm but no nucleus).

Etymology

From cyto- (Greek kytos, 'cell') + -some (Greek soma, 'body'). This term was developed by early cell biologists to distinguish the living, active cytoplasmic portion from the nucleus.

Kelly Says

The term 'cytosome' highlights an older way of thinking about cells as having two separate 'bodies'—the nucleus as command center and the cytoplasm as the working factory around it!

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