Definition of "cytology" [cytology]

• The branch of biology that deals with the formation, structure, and function of cells. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "If cytology is positive or a plaque is regarded as suspicious, a biopsy is needed to confirm a diagnosis of mesothelioma A doctor removes a sample of tissue for examination under a microscope by a pathologist."
• "They include toxicology, cytology (the study of the structure and function of the cell) and clinical embryology (IVF research)."
• "The cytology was always obscure, of course, and the diagnosis was complicated by the pneumonia."