Definition & Meaning: Blasto Word Root

Encountering the word ‘blastoma’ years ago unveiled a poignant reality, transporting me back to a time devoid of the pervasive digital connectivity we know today. This revelation came a decade after my primary school days, jolting me with the news of a former peer’s demise due to blastoma – a type of cancer prevalent among children, stemming from malignant precursor cells, often referred to as blasts. The term ‘blastoma’ derives from the Greek ‘blastos’, signifying a bud or sprout, metaphorically representing a nascent cell or an immature child. Predominantly used in the medical field, the root ‘blast-‘ shapes words that convey the nature, location, developmental stage of cells, or the originating organ.

Learn Words Related to the Blasto Word Root

Commonly Used Words based on the Blasto Word Root

• Blastocyst: Early mammalian embryo with a fluid-filled cavity, encircled by a single cell layer.
• Fibroblast: A cell generating collagen and other fibers in connective tissue.
• Neuroblastoma: A malignant tumor arising from nerve cells, often in the adrenal gland.

Technical Words/Jargon based on the Blasto Word Root

• Blastoderm: A cell layer forming on the yolk’s surface in avian or reptilian eggs, leading to the embryo.
• Hematoblast: A progenitor blood cell.
• Megaloblastic anaemia: An anaemia type due to DNA synthesis inhibition during red blood cell production.

Archaic Words based on the Blasto Word Root

• Blastema: A cell mass from which an organ or body part develops.
• Blastokinesis: Embryo movement in some insect eggs into the yolk mass.

Related Word Roots

• Cyto- (Greek): Relating to ‘cell’, this root is found in ‘cytology’ (the study of cells) and ‘cytoplasm’ (the cell’s internal material).
• Gen- (Greek): Meaning ‘origin’ or ‘birth’, seen in ‘genesis’ (the mode of formation of something) and ‘genetics’ (the study of heredity and genetic variation).
• Oma- (Greek): Pertaining to ‘tumor’ or ‘growth’, used in ‘carcinoma’ (a type of cancer) and ‘sarcoma’ (a malignant tumor of connective tissue).