subnuclearadj.
/ˌsʌbˈnjuːklɪə/, U.S. /ˌsəbˈn(j)ukliər/ 1. Anatomy and Medicine. Occurring or located at a level below a nucleus (nucleus n. 6); resulting from a lesion at this level. In later use also: of or relating to a subnucleus or subnuclei (subnucleus n. 2).
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1892 Ann. Ophthalmol. & Otol. 1 231 Since the nuclei are in such close relation with each other, paralysis of a single muscle suggests a sub-nuclear lesion.
1898 E. E. Maddox Tests & Stud. Ocular Muscles 284 Paralysis of the third nerve. May be nuclear, sub-nuclear, or peripheral.
1906 tr. H. Sahli Treat. Diagnostic Methods Exam. 748 It [sc. fibrillary twitching] appears in paretic and atrophied muscles, particularly when of nuclear or subnuclear origin.
1983 Jrnl. Compar. Neurol. 216 245 The subnuclear organization of the avian oculomotor complex is also considered in comparison to such functional organization in other species.
2008 C. A. P. Cavallotti & L. Cerulli Age-related Changes Human Eye 360 The final common pathway from the motor neurons in the III, IV, and VI cranial nerves, down to their termination on the extraocular muscles fibers, constitutes the subnuclear level of the oculomotor system.
2. Biology.
a. Located or occurring beneath a cell nucleus.
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1900 Bot. Gaz. 30 93 But I cannot confirm the statement that the darker subnuclear zones take their characteristic appearance from a stainable ground substance between the spindle fibers.
1959 Lancet 19 Sept. 381/1 These vacuoles varied in position, being either supranuclear or subnuclear.
1974 Gynecol. Oncol. 2 181 In the late proliferative stage of the cycle, aggregates of subnuclear glycogen and bundles of perinuclear filaments are noted.
2003 Ear, Nose & Throat Jrnl. (Nexis) 1 Jan. 19 The ameloblastic cells are columnar epithelial cells palisaded about the periphery of the tumor nests, with a subnuclear vacuolization away from the basement membrane.
b. Located or occurring within the cell nucleus; of or relating to components of the cell nucleus.
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1954 Q. Rev. Biol. 29 209/2 Moses..estimated the macronucleus of Paramecium to contain about 40 subnuclear units.
1989 Exper. Cell Res. 185 78 The fluorescent sparkles correspond to discrete subnuclear structures identified as clusters of interchromatin granules.
2006 Jrnl. Surg. Res. 133 32/1 The 2M NaCl extraction step is necessary to fully extract histone H3 and results in excellent subnuclear fractionation.
3. Physics. Occurring or originating inside an atomic nucleus; smaller than an atomic nucleus. Also: relating to or involving particles, phenomena, etc., on a scale smaller than an atomic nucleus.
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the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > [adjective] > smaller than or occurring in nucleus
subnuclear1946
1946 Sci. News Let. 28 Sept. 195/2 Complete conversion of matter into energy, releasing subnuclear power..is foreseen as a possibility.
1964 M. Gowing Brit. & Atomic Energy 1939–45 16 These two theories..form the basis of all modern atomic, nuclear, and sub-nuclear physics.
1972 Sci. News 19 Aug. 127/1 Theorists are beginning to think that the electromagnetic force and the weak subnuclear force may be closely related.
1981 C. H. L. Smith in J. H. Mulvey Nature of Matter iii. 61 In the 1930s..protons and neutrons were the only sub-nuclear particles known.
2010 Nature 4 Nov. 40/2 Gravity is the only force for which we currently do not have a reliable ‘fundamental description’, which would be applicable at subnuclear distances.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1892