blastema

American  

[bla-stee-muh] / blæˈsti mə /

noun

Embryology.

plural

blastemas, blastemata

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

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blastema British  

/ blæˈstiːmə, blæˈstiːmɪk, -ˈstɛm- /

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

• blastemal adjective
• blastematic adjective
• blastemic adjective

Etymology

Origin of blastema

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

Example Sentences

Regenerating functional tissue across species, including salamanders and insects, relies on the ability to form a blastema, a clump of undifferentiated cells that can repair damage and grow into the missing appendage.

From Science Daily • Dec. 22, 2023

Jellyfish, along with other cnidarians such as corals and sea anemones, exhibit high regeneration abilities, but how they form the critical blastema has remained a mystery until now.

From Science Daily • Dec. 22, 2023

"Ultimately, understanding blastema formation mechanisms in regenerative animals, including jellyfish, may help us identify cellular and molecular components that improve our own regenerative abilities."

From Science Daily • Dec. 22, 2023

Petersen, C. P. & Reddien, P. W. Smed-βcatenin-1 is required for anteroposterior blastema polarity in planarian regeneration.

From Nature • Nov. 21, 2017

It seems at present necessary to abandon the original idea of Schwann, that we can observe the building up of a cell from the simple granules of a blastema, or formative fluid.

From Medical Essays, 1842-1882 by Holmes, Oliver Wendell