A ceramide linked to one or more sugars via the terminal OH group; included as glycosphingolipids are cerebrosides, gangliosides, and ceramide oligosaccharides (oligoglycosylceramides). The prefix glyc- may be replaced by gluc-, galact-, lact-, etc. SYN: ceramide saccharide.
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gly·co·sphin·go·lip·id .glī-kō-.sfiŋ-gō-'lip-əd n any of various lipids (as a cerebroside or a ganglioside) which are derivatives of ceramides, do not contain the phosphorus or the extra nitrogenous base of the sphingomyelins, and do contain a carbohydrate (as glucose), and some of which accumulate in disorders of lipid metabolism (as Tay-Sachs disease)
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gly·co·sphingo·lip·id (gli″ko-sfing″o-lipґid) any sphingolipid in which the head group is a mono- or oligosaccharide unit; included are the cerebrosides, sulfatides, and gangliosides. See also glycolipid.Medical dictionary. 2011.