acro-, acr- +
(Greek: ακρος, high, highest, highest point; top, tip end, outermost; extreme; extremity of the body)
acropigmentation
Hyperpigmentation of the dorsal surfaces of the fingers and toes beginning in early childhood and usually increasing with age; more common in persons of dark complexion.
acroplankton
Organisms floating in the air.
acropleustophyte
A large aquatic plant that floats freely at the surface of the water.
acropleustophytic
acroplotos
Swimming at the surface.
acropodium
1. In birds, the upper surface of the foot.
2. Digits (fingers or toes).
acropolis, Acropolis
1. A city at the top or on a hill, such as the Acropolis of Athens, Greece, on which the Parthenon and main temples exist.
2. The fortified citadel of a city in ancient Greece usually on a high place.
The Parthenon was the chief temple of the goddess Athena built on the acropolis at Athens between 447 and 432 B.C. and considered a supreme example of Doric architecture.
acroposthitis
Inflammation of the prepuce (foreskin).
acropustulosis
Pustular (small circumscribed elevation of the skin, containing purulent material) eruptions of the hands and feet, often a form of psoriasis.
acrosarc
A pulpy berry resulting from union of ovary and calyx.
acrosclerosis, acroscleroderma
Stiffness and tightness of the skin of the fingers, with atrophy of the soft tissue and osteoporosis of the distal phalanges of the hands and feet; a limited form of progressive systemic sclerosis occurring with Raynaud’s phenomenon.
acroscopic
Facing towards the apex, opposite of basiscopic.
acrosome
1. A structure at the end of a sperm cell that releases enzymes to digest the cell membrane of an egg, enabling the sperm to penetrate and enter the egg for fertilization.
2. Body at the apex of spermatozoon; apical body; perforatorium.
acrospire
The first shoot or sprout, being spiral, at the end of a germinating seed.
acrospiroma
A tumor of the distal dermal segment of a sweat gland.
If you would like to take a couple of self-scoring quizzes over many of the words in this unit, then click Acro- Quiz.
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