metaplasia

American  

[met-uh-pley-zhuh, -zhee-uh] / ˌmɛt əˈpleɪ ʒə, -ʒi ə /

noun

Pathology.

1. the transformation of one type of tissue into another.

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metaplasia British  

/ ˌmɛtəˈpleɪzɪə /

noun

1. the transformation of one kind of tissue into a different kind

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Other Word Forms

• metaplastic adjective

Etymology

Origin of metaplasia

First recorded in 1885–90; meta- + -plasia

Example Sentences

The area is known as a "hotspot for the development of metaplasia" -- the replacement of one type of cell by another.

From Science Daily • Apr. 11, 2024

The longitudinal study, which represents the world's largest genomic survey of patients with intestinal metaplasia, examines more than 1,100 tissue samples using powerful technologies such as single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomics*.

From Science Daily • Dec. 11, 2023

It was revealed that a subpopulation of intestinal stem-like cells in patients with intestinal metaplasia closely resembles early stomach cancer cells, pointing to a possible early origin and potential of its malignant future.

From Science Daily • Dec. 11, 2023

“I’m not that smart. I have squamous metaplasia in my ileum.”

From New York Times • Apr. 1, 2020

When differentiation has advanced so that such distinct types of tissue have been formed as connective tissue, epithelium, muscle, nerve, these do not again merge through metaplasia.

From Q. E. D., or New Light on the Doctrine of Creation by Price, George McCready