Skip to content
In English |
En español
Search
Dictionary of Cancer Terms
Page Options
Print This Page
More NCI Dictionaries
NCI Drug Dictionary
Glossary of Statistical Terms
NCI Dictionary of Genetics Terms
Terminology Resources
Questions about cancer?
1-800-4-CANCER
The search textbox has an autosuggest feature. When you enter three or more characters, a list of up to 10 suggestions will popup under the textbox. Use the arrow keys to move through the suggestions. To select a suggestion, hit the enter key. Using the escape key closes the listbox and puts you back at the textbox. The radio buttons allow you to toggle between having all search items start with or contain the text you entered in the search box.
Search for
Search text box
Starts with
Contains
#
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
retrovirus
(REH-troh-VY-rus)
A type of virus that has RNA instead of DNA as its genetic material. It uses an enzyme called reverse transcriptase to become part of the host cells’ DNA. This allows many copies of the virus to be made in the host cells. The virus that causes AIDS, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), is a type of retrovirus.
