hairy cell leukemia a form of chronic leukemia marked by splenomegaly and by an abundance of abnormal large mononuclear cells covered by hairlike villi (hairy cells) in the bone marrow, spleen, liver, and peripheral blood.
A set of orbitals are said to be degenerate if they all have the same energy. This degeneracy can sometimes be lifted by external electric or magnetic fields.
2. Biology A rudimentary or degenerate, usually nonfunctioning, structure that is the remnant of an organ or part that was fully developed or functioning in a preceding generation or an earlier stage of development. [French, from Old French, from Latin vestÄ«gium.]