An organism, cell, or tissue that resists absorbing or retaining dyes and pigments.
From Greek 'chroma' (color) + 'phobos' (fear). Coined in contrast to chromophile to describe non-staining biological materials, emerging in late 19th-century histology.
In the pituitary gland, chromophobe cells puzzled scientists for decades because they refused to take up dyes—but we now know they're actually important hormone-producing cells that just don't like traditional stains.
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