stem cell

noun

: an unspecialized cell that gives rise to differentiated cells

hematopoietic stem cells in bone marrow

Examples of stem cell in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The company's technology is unique with its ability to select and enrich only the highest functioning and purest islet cells from the population of pluripotent stem cells which enables the maximum therapeutic effect. —Sacramento Bee, 24 June 2024

As for the stem cell business, Bird argued in the Iowa lawsuit that the companies downplayed safety concerns. —Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 15 June 2024

These multipotent stem cells, which form during an early embryonic phase, can morph into different types of more specialized cells throughout the embryo, contributing to everything from heart valves to coloration. —Elizabeth Rayne, Ars Technica, 22 May 2024

For this, a nurse practitioner came to their homes to administer injections and IVs filled with stem cells derived from umbilical cords. —Heather Hollingsworth The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 16 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1896, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

stem cell

noun

: a simple cell that can become a cell (as a blood cell or skin cell) with a special function

Medical Definition

stem cell

noun

ˈstem- 

: an unspecialized cell capable of perpetuating itself through cell division and having the potential to give rise to differentiated cells with specialized functions

Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent cells derived from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst stage of the embryo.

—Carrie J. Merkle, in Essentials of Pathophysiology

… picture the bone marrow as a blood cell factory that takes a single type of precursor cell, or stem cell, and modifies it in various ways to produce all the cells that circulate in the blood.

—Gina Kolata, Discover

Recent observations are providing increasing evidence for the concept that adult stem cells are part of a natural system for tissue repair.

—Darwin J. Prockop, in Essentials of Stem Cell Biology