chondriosome Biol.
(ˈkɒndrɪəʊˌsəʊm)
[ad. G. chondriosom (F. Meves 1908, in Archiv f. mikrosk. Anatomie LXXII. 831), f. mod.L. chondriosoma, f. Gr. χονδρίον, dim. of χόνδρος cartilage + σῶµα body.]
A minute organelle present in the cytoplasm of most cells and containing enzymes necessary for various metabolic processes; a mitochondrion. Also ˈchondriocont, -kont [a. G. chondriokont (F. Meves 1907, in Anat. Anzeiger XXXI. 401), f. Gr. κοντ-ός pole], a rod-shaped chondriosome.
| 1910 C. E. Walker Hered. Characters ii. 35 He [sc. Meves] suggests that certain cytoplasmic structures, ‘chondrio⁓somes’, divide with the cell, and are handed on individually from generation to generation. 1911 Jrnl. Morphology XXII. 777 There are..no filamentous mitochondria (chondriokonts) in the spermatogonia. 1920 L. Doncaster Introd. Cytology 21 The structures grouped together under the general name of mitochondria, known also as chondriosomes, or when rod-shaped, as chondrioconts. 1956 Nature 25 Feb. 387/1 Small granules often appear in the cell after staining with 1 per cent aqueous Janus green which are thought to be chondriosomes. |