Origin of The Name 'B Cells'
The ‘B’ in ‘B cell’ refers to bursa-derived. This is simply because during the 1960s B cells were first defined (and distinguished from thymus-derived T cells) in birds, which have a bursa. A decade later, after examining almost every other organ including the appendix, researchers finally discovered that mammalian B cells develop in the bone marrow and spleen. The fact that ‘bone marrow’, like bursa, starts with a ‘B’ is sheer coincidence.
Since then "Bone-derived" has become a backronym for the B in B-cell.
Read more about this topic: Bursa Of Fabricius
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