Organisses

Organisses is a term that has appeared in speculative biology and some works of fiction to describe a class of integrated, organ-like functional units that operate at the tissue level. It is not recognized as a real taxonomic or anatomical category in mainstream biology, and there is no consensus on a formal definition in scientific literature.

Etymology and conceptually, organisses are envisioned as larger than organelles and as bridging the gap between cellular and organ-level function. Unlike organelles, which reside within a single cell, organisses are conceived as multi-cellular or tissue-spanning modules that coordinate metabolic, signaling, and mechanical functions across several cells. The term is often used to emphasize modularity and emergent properties that arise from collective cell interactions rather than from a single cell’s machinery.

Proposed characteristics include modular architecture, local autonomic control, and integration with vascular or extracellular matrix networks. They might form during development or be proposed as targets in regenerative medicine or synthetic biology concepts. In fiction, organisses are sometimes depicted as self-organizing units that respond to injury by reallocating resources and guiding tissue repair or adaptation.

Relation to existing biology is interpretive rather than empirical. Because organisses are not incidentally defined or validated, discussions about them remain theoretical and speculative. The concept can serve as a thought experiment about tissue organization, distributed control systems, or the design of bioengineered tissues, but it does not currently correspond to a confirmed biological reality.