A young immature cell that matures into a lymphocyte and is characterized by more abundant cytoplasm than in a lymphocyte, a nucleus in which the chromatin is finer than in a lymphocyte (but coarser than in a myeloblast), and one or two rather prominent nucleoli. SYN: lymphocytoblast. [lympho- + G. blastos, germ]
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lym·pho·blast 'lim(p)-fə-.blast n a lymphocyte that has enlarged following stimulation by an antigen, has the capacity to recognize the stimulating antigen, and is undergoing proliferation and differentiation either to an effector state in which it functions to eliminate the antigen or to a memory state in which it functions to recognize the future reappearance of the antigen called also lymphocytoblast compare LEUKOBLAST
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n.
an abnormal cell present in the blood and the blood-forming organs in one type of leukaemia (lymphoblastic leukaemia). It has a large nucleus with very scanty cytoplasm and is thought to be the precursor of the lymphocyte.
• lymphoblastic adj.
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lym·pho·blast (limґfo-blast) [lympho- + -blast] a morphologically immature lymphocyte, once thought to represent an early stage in lymphocyte development but now known to be an activated lymphocyte that has been transformed in response to antigenic stimulation. lymphoblastic adjMedical dictionary. 2011.