In embryology and pathology, the abnormal displacement or misplacement of tissue or organs to a different location in the body.
From Greek hetero- (different) + topos (place) + -ia (condition). A medical term from the 19th century describing tissues in wrong locations.
Heteropia happens when developing embryos have glitches—tissues end up in weird places! Pancreatic tissue sometimes grows in the stomach, or thyroid tissue shows up in unexpected spots. Most of the time it causes no problems.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.