Mast Cell

A mast cell (also known as mastocyte and labrocyte) is a resident cell of several types of tissues and contains many granules rich in histamine and heparin. Although best known for their role in allergy and anaphylaxis, mast cells play an important protective role as well, being intimately involved in wound healing and defense against pathogens.

The mast cell is very similar in both appearance and function to the basophil, a type of white blood cell. However, they are not the same, as they both arise from different cell lines.

Read more about Mast Cell:  Origin and Classification, Physiology, Histological Staining

Famous quotes containing the words mast and/or cell:

    I did not wish to take a cabin passage, but rather to go before the mast and on the deck of the world, for there I could best see the moonlight amid the mountains. I do not wish to go below now.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    What Mrs. Thatcher did for women was to demonstrate that if a woman had enough desire she could do what she wanted, do anything a man could do.... Mrs. Thatcher did not have one traditional feminine cell in her body.
    Julie Burchill (b. 1960)