histocyte


his·ti·o·cyte

(his'tē-ō-sīt'), A tissue macrophage; the class includes hepatic Kupffer cells, alveolar macrophages, giant cells of granulomas, osteoclasts, and dermal Langerhans cells. These cells derive from precursors that normally reside in bone marrow but migrate through the bloodstream to egress into tissues for final differentiation. Synonym(s): histocyte [histio- + G. kytos, cell]

his·ti·o·cyte

(his'tē-ō-sīt) A macrophage present in connective tissue.
Synonym(s): histocyte. [histio- + G. kytos, cell]

histocyte

or

clasmatocyte

a large phagocyte of irregular shape that occurs in blood, lymph and connective tissue. Histocytes are similar to MONOCYTES but take up stain.