A carbohydrate that cannot form any simpler sugar by simple hydrolysis; e.g., pentoses, hexoses. SYN: monose.
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mono·sac·cha·ride .män-ə-'sak-ə-.rīd n a sugar not decomposable to simpler sugars by hydrolysis called also simple sugar
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n.
a simple sugar having the general formula (CH2O)n. Monosaccharides may have between three and nine carbon atoms, but the most common number is five or six. Monosaccharides are classified according to the number of carbon atoms they possess. Thus trioses have three carbon atoms, tetroses four, pentoses five, and hexoses six. The most abundant monosaccharide is glucose (a hexose).
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mono·sac·cha·ride (mon″o-sakґə-rīd) a simple sugar; a carbohydrate that cannot be decomposed by hydrolysis. The monosaccharides are colorless crystalline substances with a sweet taste and all have the general formula CnH2nOn. They are classified according to the number of carbon atoms in the chain into dioses (C2H4O2), trioses (C3H6O3), etc., and are further classified as aldoses or ketoses.Medical dictionary. 2011.