Recent Examples on the WebAbout half of all human hepatocytes are aneuploid, indicating that the backup-copy theory can’t be the whole story.Quanta Magazine, 21 Aug. 2014 More than a hundred years ago, biologists noticed that some hepatocytes (liver cells) were huge, swollen with two or more nuclei and bursting with chromosomes.Quanta Magazine, 21 Aug. 2014 Scientists have also discovered that hepatocytes, the metabolically active cells that constitute 80 percent of the liver, possess traits not seen in any other normal cells of the body. Natalie Angier, New York Times, 12 June 2017 Adding to the liver’s repair protocol, Dr. Grompe of Oregon Health and Science University said, is the extreme plasticity of hepatocytes. Natalie Angier, New York Times, 12 June 2017
Word History
First Known Use
1965, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
hepatocyte
noun
he·pa·to·cyte hi-ˈpat-ə-ˌsīt ˈhep-ət-ə-
: any of the polygonal epithelial parenchymatous cells of the liver that secrete bile