megakaryocyte

1. (anatomy) A large cell, found in bone marrow, responsible for the production of platelets.Examples: "These have been described as giant cells with budding nuclei (Bizzozero [2]); but it seems to me that they are worthy of a more distinctive name. I shall speak of them hereafter as megakaryocytes, or large nucleated giant cells, while the first class might be named polykaryocytes, or multinucleated giant cells."; "The evidence of formation of blood platelets from the megakaryocyte is conclusive. Except for the origin of platelets in the early embryo from a forerunner of the megakaryocyte, Wright recognizes no other source for blood platelets in mammals."; "Under appropriate culture conditions, the megakaryocyte burst-forming cell can develop into 40 to 500 megakaryocytes within 1 week."