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Definition of "dedifferentiation" []

  • Biology Regression of a specialized cell or tissue to a simpler, more embryonic, unspecialized form. Dedifferentiation may occur before the regeneration of appendages in plants and certain animals and in the development of some cancers. (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.