A dancing or leaping, as in a disease ( e.g., chorea) or physiologic function ( e.g., saltatory conduction). [L. saltatio, fr. salto, pp. -atus, to dance, fr. salio, to leap]
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sal·ta·tion sal-'tā-shən, sȯl- n
1) the origin of a new species or a higher taxon in essentially a single evolutionary step that in some esp. former theories is held to be due to macromutation
2) MUTATION used esp. of bacteria and fungi
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sal·ta·tion (sal-taґshən) [L. saltatio, from saltare to jump] 1. the action of leaping. 2. the jerky dancing or leaping that sometimes occurs in chorea. 3. saltatory conduction. 4. in genetics, a dramatic and abrupt inherited change in the phenotype of an organism due to a mutation. 5. sudden increases or changes in the course of an illness; called also saltatory progression.Medical dictionary. 2011.