SKIP TO CONTENT

heterologous

/ˈhɛdəˌrɑləgəs/
IPA guide

Heterologous tissue in an organism is tissue that is foreign or taken from a different species. For example, a pig’s heart valve, transplanted into a human, is heterologous. But so are the cells of a tumor, because they’re foreign organic material.

There’s another meaning of heterologous in biology. Heterologous structures in different species are structures that don't have the same evolutionary origin. For example, even though a bird's wing and mosquito's wing are both used for flying and have a similar position on the body, they're heterologous, because they developed along separate evolutionary paths. Heterologous uses the combining form hetero-, meaning "different" or "other," from the Greek heteros.

Definitions of heterologous
  1. adjective
    derived from organisms of a different but related species
    “a heterologous graft”
    see moresee less
    antonyms:
    homologous
    corresponding or similar in position or structure or function or characteristics; especially derived from an organism of the same species
    autologous
    derived from organisms of the selfsame individual
  2. adjective
    not corresponding in structure or evolutionary origin
    see moresee less
    antonyms:
    homologous
    having the same evolutionary origin but not necessarily the same function
    analogous
    corresponding in function but not in evolutionary origin
    homologic, homological
    similar in evolutionary origin but not in function
Cite this entry
Style:
MLA
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago

Copy citation
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘heterologous'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
Word Family