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blastema

[bla-stee-muh]
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noun, plural blas·te·mas, blas·te·ma·ta [bla-stee-muh-tuh] /blæˈsti mə tə/. Embryology.
  1. an aggregation of cells in an early embryo, capable of differentiation into specialized tissue and organs.
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Origin of blastema

1840–50; < New Latin < Greek blástēma (blastē- verbid stem of blasteîn to sprout + -ma noun suffix denoting result of action)
Related formsblas·te·mal, blas·te·mat·ic [blas-tuh-mat-ik] /ˌblæs təˈmæt ɪk/, blas·te·mic [bla-stee-mik, -steem-ik] /blæˈsti mɪk, -ˈstim ɪk/, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for blastema

Historical Examples

  • My first doubts of the blastema doctrine date from my researches on tubercle.

    The World's Greatest Books - Volume 15 - Science

    Various

  • The first stage corresponds to the process of organization, the gelatine representing the blastema, and the drop the nucleus.

British Dictionary definitions for blastema

blastema

noun plural -mas or -mata (-mətə)
  1. a mass of undifferentiated animal cells that will develop into an organ or tissue: present at the site of regeneration of a lost part
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Derived Formsblastemic (blæˈstiːmɪk, -ˈstɛm-), adjective

Word Origin

C19: from New Latin, from Greek: offspring, from blastos bud
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for blastema

n.

1849, Modern Latin, from Greek blastema "offspring, offshoot," from stem of blastanein "to shoot forth," from blastos "sprout, germ," of unknown origin. Related: Blastemal.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
blastema in Medicine

blastema

(blă-stē′mə)
n.
  1. The formative, undifferentiated material from which cells are formed.
  2. A mass of embryonic cells from which an organ or a body part develops, either in normal development or in the regeneration of a lost body part.
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Related formsblas•te′mal null null adj.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.