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somatic
Term in biological sciences referring to cells that aren't passed down in reproduction
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3 identifiers linking somatic across the web's reference databases
Term in biological sciences referring to cells that aren't passed down in reproduction
3 identifiers linking somatic across the web's reference databases
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0
In cellular biology, the term somatic is derived from the French somatique which comes from the Ancient Greek σωματικός and σῶμα. It is often used to refer to the cells of the body, in contrast to the reproductive (germline) cells, which usually give rise to the egg or sperm. These somatic cells are diploid, containing two copies of each chromosome, whereas germ cells are haploid, as they only contain one copy of each chromosome. Although under normal circumstances all somatic cells in an organism contain identical DNA, they develop a variety of tissue-specific characteristics. This process is called differentiation, through epigenetic and regulatory alterations. The grouping of similar cells and tissues creates the foundation for organs.