pachytene

Term: pachytene

Literally meaning: “thick band”

Origin: Anc Greek

παχύς/pachys(=fat, dense)  >πακτόω/pactoo(=block, shut)

ταινία/taenia(=band, ribon)> τανύω/tanyo(=strain)

Coined/History

In 1912 by The Belgian cytologist and gynecologist  Hans von Winiwarter (1875-1949) who had an interest in the nature of gender determination, reported from his studies of fetal ovaries that the human diploid chromosome number was probably 48.  

Definition

Pachytene is one of the stages of prophase I in which the homologous chromosomes become short and thick and divide into four distinct chromatids.