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Ceramide

Simplest sphingolipid containing no attached group at the terminal hydroxyl.

Also: Ceremide

Sphingosine plus a fatty acid linked by an amide bond. The structural backbone of sphingomyelin, cerebrosides, and gangliosides; also functions as a lipid second messenger in apoptosis and stress signaling.

How one textbook covers it

  • Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism, 8th ed. (Gropper) — Glossary

    Sphingosine plus a fatty acid linked by an amide bond. The structural backbone of sphingomyelin, cerebrosides, and gangliosides; also functions as a lipid second messenger in apoptosis and stress signaling.

Related terms

Sphingolipids, Sphingomyelin