1962; pa(pilloma) + po(lyoma) + va(cuolating) (representing three virus groups in the order in which they became known) + virus
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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| an obscure term ostensibly referring to a lung disease caused by silica dust, sometimes cited as one of the longest words in the English language. |
| opposition to the withdrawal of state support or recognition from an established church, esp. the Anglican Church in 19th-century England. |
papovavirus pa·po·va·vi·rus (pə-pō'və-vī'rəs)
n.
A virus of the family Papovaviridae.
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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papovavirus
any of a group of viruses constituting the family Papovaviridae, which is divided into two subgroups: the papillomaviruses and the polyomaviruses. Papovaviruses are responsible for a variety of abnormal growths in animals: warts (papillomas) in humans, dogs, and other animals; cervical cancer in women; tumours (polyomas) in mice; and vacuoles (open areas) in cells of monkeys. The virus particle lacks an outer membrane; is spheroidal, about 45 nanometres (nm; 1 nm = 10 - 9 metre) across; is covered with 42 subunits called capsomeres; and contains deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Papovaviruses develop in the nuclei of cells, in which they can be seen in apparent crystalline arrangements.
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