A protein fragment produced when casein (a milk protein) is broken down, representing a secondary stage in protein digestion.
From deutero- (second) + casease, which combines casein with '-ase' (an enzyme suffix). This reflects 19th-century biochemical terminology for protein degradation products.
This word shows how scientists named things before they fully understood biochemistry—they just watched proteins break apart and numbered the fragments like chapters in a book!
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