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mitochondrion
(mi″to-konīdre-on)
pl. mitochonīdria
a small, round or oval, membrane-bounded cytoplasmic organelle, the principal site of synthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP); mitochondria also contain enzymes of the citric acid cycle and ones for fatty acid oxidation, oxidative phosphorylation, and other biochemical pathways. They also contain DNA, RNA, and ribosomes, and replicate independently, synthesizing some
of their own proteins. adj., mitochonīdrial., adj.

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