CHIASMA (chiasmata)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: chiasmata   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does chiasma mean? 

• CHIASMA (noun)
  The noun CHIASMA has 1 sense:

1. an intersection or crossing of two tracts in the form of the letter X

  Familiarity information: CHIASMA used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CHIASMA (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An intersection or crossing of two tracts in the form of the letter X

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

chiasm; chiasma; decussation

Hypernyms ("chiasma" is a kind of...):

anatomical structure; bodily structure; body structure; complex body part; structure (a particular complex anatomical part of a living thing and its construction and arrangement)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "chiasma"):

chiasma opticum; optic chiasm; optic chiasma (the crossing of the optic nerves from the two eyes at the base of the brain)

 Context examples 

Also called optic chiasma.

(Optic chiasm, NCI Dictionary)