Tabla de Contenidos
Biology uses various prefixes to configure its terminology. These prefixes give different words similar meanings and make them easier to understand. For example, eu- , an origin prefix in Greek, indicates that something is good or okay. By extension, any scientific word that contains this prefix refers to something that is true, normal, or good. Below are several cases of terms that contain this prefix.
Most frequent terms with the prefix eu-
Some biological terms with the prefix eu- that are more widely used in biology and ecology are the following.
Eubacteria. ( Eu , well + bacter , rod). Bacteria that during their evolutionary process developed cell walls that contain a substance called peptidoglycan. The presence of this substance caused them to be called “well-constituted bacteria”, unlike the more primitive bacteria, called archaebacteria, which lack peptidoglycan.
Eucalyptus. ( Eu , well + calyptos , hidden). Tree whose seeds develop in a structure called pixidium, which is why they are not easily visualized.
Eukaryotes . ( Eu -, good or true + karyon , kernel). Cells whose genetic material and organelles are surrounded by membranes. This is contrary to prokaryotic cells, which do not have these membrane-bounded structures and therefore lack a “true nucleus”.
Euchromatin. ( Eu- , well + khrōm , color). Portion of chromatin that is less colored, but that contains a greater number of genes, which are actively transcribed. Chromatin (DNA + proteins) is the structure that makes up chromosomes and is intensely colored when dividing cells are stained to study them; Transcription is one of the steps that allow the formation of new proteins from a segment of DNA.
Euphotic. ( Eu -, good + photos , light). Surface area of the water into which light penetrates due to its shallow depth. Consequently, living things that make their food in the presence of light, called photosynthetics, are abundant there. Depending on the body of water to which it refers (pond, lake, lagoon), the euphotic zone goes from 0 to 40 – 100 m deep.
Eugenics. ( Eu -, good + genesis , origin). Production of genetically well endowed individuals. It was coined by the British Francis Galton to name the discipline interested in improving the lineage of species, especially humans.
Euglena . ( Eu -, well + glene , eyespot, eyeball). A single-celled, eukaryotic organism that has a well-defined and therefore easily observable eyespot.
Euplasia. ( Eu- , well + plassein , shape, modeling). Tissue that develops normally. A cancerous tissue is not euplastic, because it is not normal. Cancerous tissues are known as neoplastic.
Euploid. ( Eu -, well + eidos , appearance). An organism that has the proper number of chromosomes. For example, human cells have 46 chromosomes, except for eggs and sperm, which always have 23. If a human is born with more than 46 chromosomes, he is not euploid. A person with Down syndrome has 47 chromosomes instead of 46.
Euryhalines. ( Eu -, well + hial, hialo, salt). Individuals belonging to species well adapted to saline environments, or whose salt concentration has a wide range. For example, salmon are fish that can remain for an extended time in both marine and freshwater communities.
Eurytopic. ( Eu , well + topikos, relative to a place). Individuals belonging to well-adapted species that can be part of various communities, because they have a wide range of tolerance against certain environmental factors. For example, perch are fish that can inhabit communities of ponds, streams, lakes, and rivers.
Euthanasia . ( Eu- , well + thanatos , to die). In ancient Greece, euthanasia referred to an honorable, gentle or painless death. Currently, euthanasia is considered as the measures that, by action or omission, accelerate the death of a terminally ill patient, to avoid her suffering.
Eutherians. ( Eu- , good + thēríon , animal, beast). Viviparous mammals (that is, they develop inside the body of females) and placental ones, that is, whose embryos grow in a structure called the placenta. The placenta forms attached to the uterus during pregnancy and provides oxygen and nutrients to the embryo.
eutrophic . ( Eu , good + trophe , nutrition, food). Characteristic of the masses of water (ponds, lakes, lagoons) that have a large amount of organic nutrients that promote the growth and development of the organisms that inhabit it.
Sources
Curtis, H., Barnes, N.S., Schnek, A., Massarini, A. Biology . 7th edition. Editorial Médica Panamericana., Buenos Aires, 2013.
University of Salamanca. Dicciomed: medical-biological, historical and etymological dictionary . Available at https://dicciomed.usal.es/
