hematopoiesis
Americannoun
Usage
What is hematopoiesis? Hematopoiesis is the formation of blood. Human blood cells are highly specialized, meaning they are formed to do specific jobs. Yet all blood cells come from the same place. Most of hematopoiesis begins in the bone marrow and blood-creating organs like the liver, where stem cells commit themselves to becoming a certain type of blood cell and are then transitioned into the bloodstream. Hematopoiesis begins when a stem cell receives a signal that a certain type of blood cell is needed. The cell will transition into a precursor cell for either red or white blood cells. Then the cells will begin moving through the body. Eventually, the cell will fully transition into a certain type of red or white cells, such as a granulocyte, erythrocyte, leukocyte, monocyte, or lymphocyte. Some of the matter and cytoplasm that the stem cells shed during their transition becomes blood platelets. Example: When your body begins losing blood, your kidneys send a signal to your cells to accelerate the hematopoiesis process for red blood cells.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of hematopoiesis
From the New Latin word haematopoiēsis, dating back to 1850–55; see hemato-, -poiesis
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Aging HSCs are also linked to clonal hematopoiesis, an asymptomatic condition considered a premalignant state that raises the risk of blood cancers and inflammatory diseases.
From Science Daily • May 12, 2026
Consider clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential, or CHIP, in which blood cells harbor mutations often seen in blood cancer, giving them a growth advantage over their well-behaved neighbors.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026
Clonal hematopoiesis, a variety of mosaicism that affects blood-forming cells and becomes more common with age, almost doubles the likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease and boosts the risk of dying from any cause by 40%.
From Science Magazine • Aug. 15, 2023
But clonal hematopoiesis results from competition among the 50,000 to 200,000 stem cells that dwell there and divide to produce all our red and white blood cells.
From Science Magazine • Dec. 13, 2021
The major functions of the bones are body support, facilitation of movement, protection of internal organs, storage of minerals and fat, and hematopoiesis.
From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
