Somatic cells

Pronunciation
/soh-MAT-ik sel/
Category
Cell Biology
Singular
Somatic cell
Plural
Somatic cells

Definition

Non-reproductive cells of an organism that form the majority of its tissues and organs.

Etymology

From Greek 'soma', meaning 'body', and 'tikos', meaning 'belonging to'.

Example

Somatic cells in humans are diploid, meaning they contain two sets of chromosomes.

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