blastema

[ bla-stee-muh ]

/ blæˈsti mə /

noun, plural blas·te·mas, blas·te·ma·ta [bla-stee-muh-tuh] /blæˈsti mə tə/. Embryology.

an aggregation of cells in an early embryo, capable of differentiation into specialized tissue and organs.

Nearby words

blast lamp, blast off, blast wave, blast-furnace cement, blasted, blastema, blasting, blasting gelatin, blasting powder, blasto-, blastochyle

Origin of blastema

1840–50; < New Latin < Greek blástēma (blastē- verbid stem of blasteîn to sprout + -ma noun suffix denoting result of action)

Related forms

blas·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. 2019

Examples from the Web for blastema

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.
The Mechanism of Life|Stphane Leduc

British Dictionary definitions for blastema

blastema

/ (blæˈstiːmə) /

noun plural -mas or -mata (-mətə)

a mass of undifferentiated animal cells that will develop into an organ or tissue: present at the site of regeneration of a lost part

Derived Forms

blastemic (blæˈstiːmɪk, -ˈstɛm-), adjective

Word Origin for blastema

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

Medicine definitions for blastema

blastema

[ blă-stē′mə ]

n.

The formative, undifferentiated material from which cells are formed.

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.

Related forms

blas•te′mal null null adj.