Osteoclast
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osteoclast
[′äs·tē·ə‚klast] (histology)
A large multinuclear cell associated with bone resorption.
(medicine)
A large surgical apparatus through which leverage can be exerted to effect osteoclasis.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Osteoclast
a cell that is involved in the destruction and resorption of bone tissue in vertebrate animals and man. An osteoclast contains from three to several dozen nuclei and a great many lysosomes, whose hydrolytic enzymes upon release from the osteoclasts resorb the mineral matrix of bone and calcified cartilage.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.