differentiation

Main Entry: dif·fer·en·ti·a·tion
Pronunciation: -"ren-chE-'A-sh&n
Function: noun
1 a : the act of describing athing by giving its differentia b : the enhancement of microscopically visible differences between tissue or cell parts by partial selective decolorization or removal of excess stain(as in regressive staining) c : the development of a discriminating conditioned response with a positive response to one stimulus and absence of the response on the application ofsimilar but discriminably different stimuli
2 a : modification of different parts of the body for performance of particular functions; also : specialization ofparts or organs in the course of evolution b : the sum of the developmental processes whereby apparently unspecialized cells, tissues, and structures attain their adult form andfunction —compare DETERMINATION 2

differentiation dif·fer·en·ti·a·tion (dĭf'ə-rěn'shē-ā'shən)
n.

1. The acquisition or possession of a character or function different from that of the original type. Also called specialization.

2. See differential diagnosis.

differentiation   (dĭf'ə-rěn'shē-ā'shən)  Pronunciation Key  In calculus, the process of computing the derivative of a function. Compare integration. The process by which cells or parts of an organism change during development to serve a specific function. The cells of an animal in its early embryonic phase, for example, are identical at first but develop by differentiation into specific tissues, such as bone, heart muscle, and skin. The factors determining the differentiation of any particular cell are not well understood, but in deuterostomes (vertebrates and other complex animals) they include the location of the cell relative to other cells.