mast cell
a large granular cell, common in connective tissue, that produces heparin, histamine, and serotonin.
Origin of mast cell
1Words Nearby mast cell
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use mast cell in a sentence
The substance of the mast cell granulations is also crystalline in some species of animals.
Histology of the Blood | Paul EhrlichThe mast cell granulations are stained pure blue, the eosinophil red, the neutrophil in mixed colour.
Histology of the Blood | Paul EhrlichEvidently part of the dyed mast cell substance is dissolved and retained in the immediate neighbourhood.
Histology of the Blood | Paul Ehrlich
British Dictionary definitions for mast cell
a type of granular basophil cell in connective tissue that releases heparin, histamine, and serotonin during inflammation and allergic reactions
Origin of mast cell
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for mast cell
[ măst ]
A granular cell found in body tissue, especially connective tissue, that activates inflammation by releasing a variety of chemical substances including histamine, tumor necrosis factor, and interleukins. Mast cells have membrane receptors that bind to bacteria, triggering the release of inflammatory mediators from the mast cell's cytoplasmic granules. Mast cells also play an important role in allergic reactions. Other receptors on their membranes bind to specific antibodies that, combined with certain antigens, initiate granular release of chemical mediators that cause allergic signs and symptoms.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Browse