text: SINEs are characterized by their different modules, which are essentially a sectioning of their sequence. SINEs can, but do not necessarily have to possess a head, a body, and a tail. The head, is at the 5 end of short-interspersed nuclear elements and is an evolutionarily derived from an RNA synthesized by RNA Polymerase III such as ribosomal RNAs and tRNAs; the 5 head is indicative of which endogenous element that SINE was derived from and was able to parasitically utilize its transcriptional machinery. For example, the 5' of the Alu sine is derived from 7SL RNA, a sequence transcribed by RNA Polymerase III which codes for the RNA element of SRP, an abundant ribonucleoprotein. The body of SINEs possess an unknown origin but often share much homology with a corresponding LINE which thus allows SINEs to parasitically co-opt endonucleases coded by LINEs (which recognize certain sequence motifs). Lastly, the 3′ tail of SINEs is composed of short simple repeats of varying lengths; these simple repeats are sites where two (or more) short-interspersed nuclear elements can combine to form a dimeric SINE. Short-interspersed nuclear elements which only possess a head and tail are called simple SINEs whereas short-interspersed nuclear elements which also possess a body or are a combination of two or more SINEs are complex SINEs.