Canadian Medical Guide > Anatomy > Cells > Stem Cells Terms and Definitions

Stem Cells

Medical Definition:	Relatively undifferentiated cells that retain the ability to divide and proliferate throughout postnatal life to provide progenitor cells that can differentiate into specialized cells.
Also Called:	Colony-Forming Unit
Previously Indexed:	Cell Differentiation (1966-1983),Cell Line (1969-1983),Cells, Cultured (1972-1983),Colony-Forming Units Assay (1979-1983)

Stem Cells Categories.

	Mesenchymal Stem Cells - Cells that can develop into distinct mesenchymal tissue such as BONE; TENDONS; MUSCLES; ADIPOSE TISSUE; CARTILAGE; NERVE TISSUE; and BLOOD and BLOOD VESSELS.
	Multipotent Stem Cells - Specialized stem cells that are committed to give rise to cells that have a particular function; examples are MYOBLASTS; MYELOID PROGENITOR CELLS; and skin stem cells. (Stem Cells: A Primer [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Institutes of Health (US); 2000 May [cited 2002 Apr 5]. Available from: https://www.nih.gov/news/stemcell/primer.htm)
	Pluripotent Stem Cells - Cells that can give rise to most types of cells but not all types of cells necessary for fetal development. (Stem Cells: A Primer [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Institutes of Health (US); 2000 May [cited 2002 Apr 5]. Available from: https://www.nih.gov/news/stemcell/primer.htm)
	Totipotent Stem Cells - Single cells that have the potential to form an entire organism. They have the capacity to specialize into extraembryonic membranes and tissues, the embryo, and all postembryonic tissues and organs. (Stem Cells: A Primer [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Institutes of Health (US); 2000 May [cited 2002 Apr 5]. Available from: https://www.nih.gov/news/stemcell/primer.htm)
	Tumor Stem Cells - Colony-forming cells which give rise to neoplasms.

Stem Cells Medical Definitions and Terms

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