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Affixes: the building blocks of English
Affixes: the building blocks of English
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deoxy-

Loss of oxygen.

[de- plus oxy-2.]

This appears in names of substances to indicate that the molecule has lost one or more oxygen atoms compared with a precursor compound, a process sometimes called deoxygenation. Examples include deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), a self-replicating material, the carrier of genetic information in the chromosomes; part of its structure is deoxyribose, a sugar derived from ribose by replacement of a hydroxyl group by hydrogen; deoxycholic acid is one of the bile acids; deoxycorticosterone is a corticosteroid hormone involved in regulating the salt and water balance in the body.

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