chromosome aberration

aberration /ab·er·ra·tion/ (-shun)

1. deviation from the normal or usual.

2. unequal refraction or focalization of a lens.

3. in cardiology, aberrant conduction.

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chromatic aberration  unequal refraction of light rays of different wavelength, producing a blurred image with fringes of color.

chromosome aberration  an irregularity in the number or structure of chromosomes, usually a gain, loss, exchange, or alteration of sequence of genetic material, which often alters embryonic development.

intraventricular aberration  aberrant conduction within the ventricles of an impulse generated in the supraventricular region, excluding abnormalities due to fixed organic defects in conduction.

mental aberration  any pathological deviation from normal mental activity, usually limited to a circumscribed deviation in an otherwise adapted individual.

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chromosome aberration

n.

A deviation in the normal number of chromosomes or in their morphology.

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chromosomes (krō´msōms),

n the small, dark-staining, and more or less rod-shaped bodies situated in the nucleus of a cell. At the time of cell division, chromosomes divide and distribute equally to the daughter cells. They contain genes arranged along their length. The number of chromosomes in the somatic cells of an individual is constant (the diploid number), whereas just half this number (the haploid number) appears in germ cells.

chromosome aberration,

n a rearrangement of chromosome parts as a result of breakage and reunion of broken ends.