germ : Idioms & Phrases

Index

Disease germ

  • (Biol.), a name applied to certain tiny bacterial organisms or their spores, such as Anthrax bacillus and the Micrococcus of fowl cholera, which have been demonstrated to be the cause of certain diseases. See Germ theory (bellow).
Webster 1913

Germ cell

  • noun a spermatozoon or an ovum; a cell responsible for transmitting DNA to the next generation
    sex cell; reproductive cell.
WordNet
  • (Biol.), the germ, egg, spore, or cell from which the plant or animal arises. At one time a part of the body of the parent, it finally becomes detached,and by a process of multiplication and growth gives rise to a mass of cells, which ultimately form a new individual like the parent. See Ovum.
Webster 1913

Germ gland

  • . (Anat.) See Gonad.
Webster 1913

germ layer

  • noun (embryology) any of the 3 layers of cells differentiated in embryos following gastrulation
WordNet

germ plasm

  • noun the protoplasm of the germ cells that contains chromosomes and genes
    plasm.
WordNet
Germ" plasm`
Definitions
  1. (Biol.) See Plasmogen, and Idioplasm.
Webster 1913

germ pore

  • noun a pore in the outer wall of a spore or pollen grain through which the germ tube or pollen tube makes its exit on germination
WordNet

Germ stock

  • (Zoöl.), a special process on which buds are developed in certain animals. See Doliolum.
Webster 1913

Germ theory

  • noun (medicine) the theory that all contagious diseases are caused by microorganisms
WordNet
  • (Biol.), the theory that living organisms can be produced only by the evolution or development of living germs or seeds. See Biogenesis, and Abiogenesis. As applied to the origin of disease, the theory claims that the zymotic diseases are due to the rapid development and multiplication of various bacteria, the germs or spores of which are either contained in the organism itself, or transferred through the air or water. See Fermentation theory.
Webster 1913

germ tube

  • noun (botany) a slender tubular outgrowth from a spore in germination
WordNet

germ warfare

  • noun the use of harmful bacteria as a weapon
    bacteriological warfare.
WordNet

wheat germ

  • noun embryo of the wheat kernel; removed before milling and eaten as a source of vitamins
WordNet