microenvironmentaladj.
/ˌmʌɪkrəʊᵻnˌvʌɪrə(n)ˈmɛntl/, U.S. /ˈˌmaɪkroʊənˌvaɪrə(n)ˈmɛn(t)l/, /ˈˌmaɪkroʊənˌvaɪərnˈmɛn(t)l/; see also environmental adj. Chiefly Biology.
Of, relating to, or of the nature of a microenvironment.
ΚΠ
1947 Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 74 163 The tendency of some cells of Protosiphon cultures to form gametes readily during the experimental period (owing, perhaps, to micro-environmental differences).
1964 Science 14 Feb. 651/3 Correlation of the archeological with the microenvironmental study in an overall analysis of the ancient human ecology.
1974 Nature 27 Sept. 317/2 Oscillations of microenvironmental pO2 in the medium overlaying attached cultures of 107 cells per 50 mm Petri plate were measured amperometrically.
1990 Physiotherapy 76 744/1 Demonstration of roles for specific biophysical and biochemical microenvironmental factors in controlling the function of mesenchymal cells.
1998 Time 24 Aug. 67/2 Maybe younger siblings get treated differently by parents, or face some other ‘microenvironmental’ effect, such as getting slugged by older siblings.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
adj.1947