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The prefix (cyto-) means of or relating to a cell. It comes from the Greek kytos, meaning hollow receptacle.
Cytochemistry (cyto - chemistry) - a branch of biochemistry whose focus is studying both the chemical composition and chemical activity of a cell.
Cytochrome (cyto - chrome) - a class of proteins found in cells that contain iron and are important for cellular respiration.
Cytogeneticist (cyto - geneticist) - a scientist who studies cytogenetics. In a clinical setting, a cytogeneticist is often tasked with finding abnormalities in chromosomes.
Cytogenetics (cyto - genetics) - a branch of genetics that studies the components of cells that impact heredity.
Cytokinesis (cyto - kinesis) - the division of a cell into two distinct cells. This division occurs at the end of mitosis and meiosis.
Cytomegalovirus (cyto - mega - lo -virus) - a group of viruses that infect epithelial cells. This group of viruses can cause infant disease.
Cytophotometry (cyto - photo - metry) - refers to using a device known as a cytophotometer to study both cells and compounds within the cells.
Cytoplasm (cyto - plasm) - all of the contents inside of a cell excluding the nucleus. This includes the cytosol and all other cell organelles.
Cytoplasmically (cyto - plasmically) - of or referring to a cell's cytoplasm.
Cytoplast (cyto - plast) - refers to an intact cytoplasm from a single cell.
Cytoskeleton (cyto - skeleton) - network of microtubules inside the cell that help give it shape and make cell movement possible.
Cytosol (cyto - sol) - semifluid component of a cell's cytoplasm.
Cytotoxic (cyto - toxic) - a substance, agent, or process that kills cells. Cytotoxic T lymphocytes are immune cells that kill cancer cells and virus-infected cells.
The suffix (-cyte) also means of or relating to a cell.
Adipocyte (adipo - cyte) - cells that compose adipose tissue. Adipocytes are also called fat cells because they store fat or triglycerides.
Bacteriocyte (bacterio - cyte) - an adipocyte that contains symbiotic bacteria, often found in some types of insects.
Erythrocyte (erythro - cyte) - red blood cell. Erythrocytes contain hemoglobin, the pigment that gives blood its distinctive red color.
Gametocyte (gameto - cyte) - a cell from which male and female gametes develop by meiosis. Male gametocytes are also known as spermatocytes while female gametocytes are also known as oocytes.
Granulocyte (granulo - cyte) - a type of white blood cell that contains cytoplasmic granules. Granulocytes include neutrophils, eosinophils, and basophils.
Leukocyte (leuko - cyte) - white blood cell. Leukocytes are usually made in an organism's bone marrow. They are found primarily in blood and lymph. Leukocytes are an integral part of the body's immune system.
Megakaryocyte (mega - karyo - cyte) - large cell in bone marrow that produces platelets.
Mycetocyte (myceto - cyte) - another name for a bacteriocyte.
Necrocyte (necro - cyte) - refers to a dead cell. It can be part of a dead cell layer that serves a protective function.
Oocyte (oo - cyte) - a female gametocyte that develops into an egg cell by meiosis.
Spermatocyte - (sperm - ato - cyte) - a male gametocyte that ultimately develops into a sperm cell by meiosis.
Thrombocyte (thrombo - cyte) - a type of blood cell known as a platelet. Platelets clump together when a blood vessel is injured to form a blood clot helping to protect the organism from excessive blood loss.
Just as a biology student might dissect a frog, learning important biologically related prefixes and suffixes can help biology students 'dissect' unfamiliar words and terms. Now that you've reviewed biology prefixes that begin with "cyto-" along with biology suffixes that end with "-cyte", you should be well prepared to 'dissect' additional similar words like cytotaxonomy, cytochemical, cytotoxicity and mesenchymocyte.
For more information on understanding biology terms, see:
Bailey, Regina. "Biology Prefixes and Suffixes: "Cyto-" and "-Cyte"." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/biology-prefixes-and-suffixes-cyto-cyte-373666. Bailey, Regina. (2023, April 5). Biology Prefixes and Suffixes: "Cyto-" and "-Cyte". Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/biology-prefixes-and-suffixes-cyto-cyte-373666 Bailey, Regina. "Biology Prefixes and Suffixes: "Cyto-" and "-Cyte"." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/biology-prefixes-and-suffixes-cyto-cyte-373666 (accessed September 12, 2024).
copy citation Biology Prefixes and Suffixes: haplo- Biology Prefixes and Suffixes Index Biology Prefixes and Suffixes: phago- or phag- Understanding Difficult Biology Words Biology Prefixes and Suffixes: staphylo-, staphyl- Biology Prefixes and Suffixes: -plasm, plasmo- Biology Word Dissections Biology Suffixes Phagia and Phage Biology Prefixes and Suffixes: tel- or telo- Biology Prefixes and Suffixes: epi- Biology Prefixes and Suffixes: meso- Biology Prefixes and Suffixes: -phyll or -phyl Biology Prefixes and Suffixes: proto- Biology Prefixes and Suffixes: -stasis Biology Prefixes and Suffixes: heter- or hetero- Karyo- or Caryo- Biology Prefixes and SuffixesWe and our 100 partners store and/or access information on a device, such as unique IDs in cookies to process personal data. You may accept or manage your choices by clicking below, including your right to object where legitimate interest is used, or at any time in the privacy policy page. These choices will be signaled to our partners and will not affect browsing data.
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