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au·tot·o·my (aw-totґə-me) [auto- + -tomy] the spontaneous shedding of an appendage, as in some invertebrates.Medical dictionary. 2011.
Autotomy — (from the Greek auto = self and tomy = severing ) or self amputation is the act whereby an animal severs one or more of its own appendages, [The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.] usually as a self… … Wikipedia
autotomy — n. 1. spontaneous removal or casting off of a body part (as the tail of a lizard or claw or a lobster) especially when the organism is injured or under attack. [WordNet 1.5] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
autotomy — [ô tät′əmē] n. [ AUTO + TOMY] the reflex action by which a leg, claw, tail, etc., as of a lobster, starfish, or lizard, is broken off at a special joint when the part is damaged, seized, etc.: the missing part then regenerates autotomic [ôt΄ə… … English World dictionary
autotomy — noun Etymology: International Scientific Vocabulary Date: 1897 reflex separation of a part (as an appendage) from the body ; division of the body into two or more pieces • autotomous adjective • autotomize verb … New Collegiate Dictionary
autotomy — n. [Gr. autos, self; tome, a cutting] The act of reflex self mutilation of a part or appendage of various invertebrates, i.e., annelids, cnidarians, crustaceans and insects … Dictionary of invertebrate zoology
autotomy — autotomic /aw teuh tom ik/, autotomous, adj. /aw tot euh mee/, n., pl. autotomies. 1. Zool. a. separation of a body part. b. self amputation of a damaged or trapped appendage. 2. the performance of surgery upon oneself. [1895 1900; AUTO 1 + TOMY] … Universalium
autotomy — noun spontaneous removal of a limb, tail etc, especially by some invertebrates as a self defense mechanism … Wiktionary
autotomy — The voluntary shedding of a limb by snapping it off the base [Ingle, 1983] … Crustacea glossary
autotomy — n. (Zoology) discarding of a damaged or trapped part of body (as in a lizard s tail) … English contemporary dictionary
autotomy — [ɔ: tɒtəmi] noun Zoology the casting off of a part of the body (e.g. the tail of a lizard) by an animal under threat … English new terms dictionary
