lastcellen

Lastcellen is a term that appears in some Dutch-language biology writings and in informal discussions to denote the final cell in a developmental lineage or the terminally differentiated cell type within a tissue. The exact meaning varies by context, and it is not an officially defined term in major biological ontologies or textbooks.

In developmental biology, lastcellen is sometimes used to contrast with stem cells and progenitor cells, drawing attention to cells that have exited the cell cycle and acquired specialized functions. In pathology and aging research, the phrase may describe cells at the end stage of a lineage or those with reduced proliferative capacity. Because usage is informal, the term can be ambiguous, and precision is typically achieved by using standard terms such as terminally differentiated cells, postmitotic cells, or mature cell types.

Etymology and usage: the word combines laat(te) meaning last and cel meaning cell in Dutch. In English-language literature the term is rarely used, and when it appears it is usually quoted from Dutch sources or treated as a descriptive label rather than a formal concept.

See also: terminally differentiated cells, stem cells, progenitor cells, postmitotic.