Chondrogenic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Concerning the biological mechanisms by which mesenchymal cells evolve into cartilage tissue during embryonic stages
2. Pertaining to the process by which cells develop into cartilage tissue within an organism
3. Describing characteristics or activities involved in the generation of cartilage from precursor cells

Etymology: "Chondrogenic" is built from two Greek-derived elements. The first, "chondro-", comes from Greek "khondros", meaning grain, groats or cartilage; the Greeks used it for the gristly tissue in the body, and the same root gave English "chondrite" for a type of stony meteorite containing small grain-like spherules. The second element, "-genic", comes from Greek "-genēs", "produced by" or "originating in", and is the same ending found in words like "carcinogenic" and "pathogenic". Put together, the word describes anything that gives rise to cartilage. Because both parts were assembled from classical roots, the term is a modern scientific coinage rather than something the ancient Greeks would have recognised, though its building blocks were in use long before. Its meaning is precise: it refers specifically to the process by which cells develop into cartilage tissue within a living organism.