megakaryocyte

plural megakaryocytes · alternative megacaryocyte

1. anatomyA large cell, found in bone marrow, responsible for the production of platelets.

   Under appropriate culture conditions, the megakaryocyte burst-forming cell can develop into 40 to 500 megakaryocytes within 1 week.

   2012, Alan D. Michelson, Platelets, page 28

   2 more examples

   These have been described as giant cells with budding nuclei (Bizzozero [2]); but it seems to me that they are worthy of a more distinctive name. I shall speak of them hereafter as megakaryocytes, or large nucleated giant cells, while the first class might be named polykaryocytes, or multinucleated giant cells.

   1890, W. H. Howell, “Observations upon the occurrence, structure, and function of the giant cells of the marrow”, in Journal of Morphology, volume 4, page 118

   The evidence of formation of blood platelets from the megakaryocyte is conclusive. Except for the origin of platelets in the early embryo from a forerunner of the megakaryocyte, Wright recognizes no other source for blood platelets in mammals.

   1914, Wade H. Brown, “The histogenesis of blood platelets”, in Studies from the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, page 69