Definition
Definitions are derived from NIH, NIGMS, MedlinePlus or other established academic glossaries.
Advanced glossary
Useful definitions, without lexical shortcuts.
This page gathers terms that are often used too loosely in public discussion about stem cells. Each entry includes a short interpretive caution where needed.
FormatDefinition, note, source
UseReduce terminological ambiguity
LimitThe glossary does not replace clinical context
Method
How to read the definitions
Interpretive note
A short note is added when a term is frequently bent by commercial language or used ambiguously.
Limit
A glossary definition does not replace the specific clinical, regulatory or experimental context.
Key terms
Glossary
Stem cell
A cell able to self-renew and generate more specialized cells.
Self-renewal
The capacity of a stem cell to generate new cells similar to itself while maintaining the stem cell pool.
Differentiation
The process by which a cell acquires more specialized characteristics and functions.
Pluripotent
Capable of generating many cell types of the adult body.
Multipotent
Capable of generating multiple cell types, usually within a more restricted biological compartment.
Adult or somatic stem cell
An undifferentiated cell found in a mature tissue, able to self-renew and generate specialized cells of that tissue.
iPSC
Somatic cells reprogrammed in the lab to a pluripotent-like state.
Autologous
Cells or tissues derived from the same individual.
Allogeneic
Cells or tissues derived from another genetically different individual of the same species.
Clinical trial
An investigation in human participants designed to evaluate safety, pharmacologic effects or efficacy of a product or intervention.
Organoid
A three-dimensional in vitro model reproducing some structural and functional aspects of a tissue or organ.
Mesenchymal stromal cells
Multipotent cell populations with differentiation potential toward bone, cartilage and adipose tissue, often oversimplified in public language as "mesenchymal stem cells".