Y chromosome

See also: Y-chromosome

English

Alternative forms

Y-chromosome

Etymology

Named by Nettie Stevens in 1905 using the next letter in sequence following the naming by Hermann Henking in 1890 of the X chromosome. The brief resemblance in the appearance of the X and Y chromosomes to the letters "X" and "Y" respectively during cell division is entirely coincidental.[1]

Noun

Y chromosome (plural Y chromosomes)

(genetics) A mammalian sex chromosome, occurring only in male cells. Cells of females have a pair of X chromosomes while cells of males have an X and a Y.

Related terms

X chromosome

Translations

mammalian sex chromosome

Finnish: Y-kromosomi (fi)
French: chromosome Y (fr) m
German: Y-Chromosom (de) n

Irish: Y-chrómasóm m
Romanian: cromozom Y m
Swedish: Y-kromosom (sv) c

References

David Bainbridge, The X in Sex: How the X Chromosome Controls Our Lives, pages 65-66, →ISBN.

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[1] David Bainbridge, The X in Sex: How the X Chromosome Controls Our Lives, pages 65-66, →ISBN.