Cytotropic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Characterizing compounds that can specifically draw and regulate certain varieties of cells
2. Pertaining to substances or agents that selectively attract and modulate particular types of cells
3. Describing compounds that have a targeted effect on specific cell groups by influencing their behavior

Etymology: "Cytotropic" is built from two Greek-derived elements that scientists combined to name a concept. The first part, "cyto-", comes from Greek "kytos", meaning "hollow vessel" or "cell", and it appears in biology words such as cytoplasm and cytology. The second part, "-tropic", comes from Greek "tropos", meaning "turn" or "direction", and it appears in words where something turns toward or is drawn to a particular thing, as in heliotropic, which describes plants that turn toward the sun. Put together, the term describes a substance or agent that is drawn to, or acts upon, particular cells, rather than whole tissues or organs. It is a technical coinage from modern scientific vocabulary rather than an ancient word, so its meaning was fixed by the researchers who needed a precise label for this kind of selective targeting.