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Related terms:
blood cell
erythrocyte
leukocyte
Cell
platelet Audio
plate·let [ pleyt-lit ]
Subclass of:
Blood Cells
Definitions related to blood platelets:
  • (platelet) An irregular, disc-shaped structure in the blood that assists in blood clotting. Platelets are not blood cells, they are fragments of large bone marrow cells called megakaryocytes.
    CDISC Terminology
    Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium (CDISC), 2021
  • (platelet) A colorless, disk-shaped cell in the blood that is necessary for clotting.
    Harvard Dictionary of Health Terms
    Harvard Medical Publishing, 2011
  • (platelet) A tiny piece of a cell found in the blood that breaks off from a large cell found in the bone marrow. Platelets help wounds heal and prevent bleeding by forming blood clots.
    NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms
    U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
  • (platelet) An irregular, disc-shaped element in the blood that assists in blood clotting. Platelets are not blood cells, they are fragments of large bone marrow cells called megakaryocytes.
    NCI
    U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
  • (platelet) Non-nucleated disk shaped cells formed in the megakaryocyte and found in the blood of all mammals; they are mainly involved in blood coagulation, and have a role in inflammation.
    CRISP Thesaurus
    National Institutes of Health, 2006
  • Non-nucleated disk-shaped cells formed in the megakaryocyte and found in the blood of all mammals. They are mainly involved in blood coagulation.
    NLM Medical Subject Headings
    U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2025
  • Platelet, colourless, nonnucleated blood component that is important in the formation of blood clots (coagulation). Platelets are found only in the blood of mammals. Platelets are formed when cytoplasmic fragments of megakaryocytes, which are very large cells in the bone marrow, pinch off into the...
    Encyclopedia Britannica
    Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2025
  • Thrombocyte, a small, nucleated, spindle-shaped cell of nonmammalian vertebrates that plays a role in the clotting of blood; or a blood platelet, a small, non-nucleated, cytoplasmic body found in the blood of mammals, which similarly plays a role in the clotting of blood.
    Encyclopedia Britannica
    Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2025
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