mast cell

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

• Syn: ↑mastocyte, ↑labrocyte

• Hypernyms: ↑somatic cell, ↑vegetative cell

• Part Holonyms: ↑connective tissue

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noun

Etymology: part translation of German mastzelle, from mast food, mast (from Old High German) + zelle cell — more at mast (nuts)

1. : a basophilic leukocyte

2. : a cell similar to but larger than a basophilic leukocyte that is common in connective and other tissues and believed to produce heparin

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Biol.

a large granular cell, common in connective tissue, that produces heparin, histamine, and serotonin.

[1885-90; partial trans. of G Mastzelle, equiv. to Mast fattening of animals for slaughter, MAST² + Zelle cell]

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mast cell noun

A cell in connective tissue thought to produce histamine and other agents controlling the release of acid in the stomach

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Main Entry: ↑mast

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mast cell,

a large cell in connective tissue that has a very granular cytoplasm. Under certain conditions it releases histamine and an anticoagulant, heparin.

╂[mast < German masten fatten]

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n. a cell filled with basophil granules, found in numbers in connective tissue and releasing histamine and other substances during inflammatory and allergic reactions

Origin:

late 19th cent.: mast from German Mast ‘fattening, feeding’