Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A cell found in connective tissue that contains numerous basophilic granules and releases substances such as heparin and histamine in response to injury or inflammation of bodily tissues.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A resident cell of connective tissue that contains many granules rich in histamine and heparin.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a large connective tissue cell that contains histamine and heparin and serotonin which are released in allergic reactions or in response to injury or inflammation
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[Partial translation of German Mastzelle, well-fed cell (from an early view that the granules were from phagocytosis) : Mast, food, mast (from Middle High German, from Old High German) + Zelle, cell.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
From German Mastzelle f., "feeding cell," coined in 1878 by immunologist Paul Ehrlich.
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