estromal

Estromal is an adjective used in medical and biological literature to refer to the stroma, the connective tissue framework that supports parenchymal cells in organs and tumors. While the standard English term is stromal, estromal can appear as a variant spelling in some texts, particularly in non-English sources such as Spanish or Portuguese medical literature where estromal forms are used to translate stroma and stromal.

Stroma refers to the non-epithelial, supportive tissue, including fibroblasts, immune cells, blood vessels, and extracellular matrix. It contrasts with parenchyma, the functional cells of an organ or tumor. In pathology and oncology, the tumor stroma comprises fibroblasts, myofibroblasts, endothelial cells, inflammatory cells, and ECM components. Interactions between cancer cells and the stromal compartment can influence tumor growth, invasion, angiogenesis, and response to therapy.

Outside pathology, stromal tissue is referenced in organ development, wound healing, and transplantation biology. In plants, the cognate term stroma relates to chloroplast stroma, but estromal is not typically used in plant contexts.

Etymology: from stroma, Latinized from Greek stroma meaning bed or cushion; the -al suffix forms an adjective describing relation to stroma.

See also: stroma, parenchyma, tumor microenvironment.