Autosomes

Pronunciation
/aw-TOH-sohmz/
Category
Genetics
Singular
Autosome
Plural
Autosomes

Definition

Chromosomes that are not involved in sex determination. Each diploid cell has two copies of each autosome.

Etymology

From Greek 'autos', meaning 'self'.

Example

In humans, there are 22 pairs of autosomes.

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