Why are stem cells called "stem cells" ?
by Richard Conan-Davies
28 May 2005
Stem cells are called stem cells because of the way the word 'stem' is used.
A dictionary will tell you that 'stem' means the main ascending (going up) stalk of a plant. Similarly there are main cells that grow through time, a main stem from which other stems can branch out from.
If you follow the origin of a particular cell backwards through its' life there are particular you will get to a point at which all the cells are essentially the same biochemically.
The diagram below gives you an analogy of a tree stem and the the types of cells that are derived from the main 'stem' or mother of all cells.
The word 'stem' is thought to be from the old english but the word also can sometimes mean 'to stop or to slow down' (from old Norse) so it could be that stem cells tend to stop at a particular point and doesn't continue in the same direction for ever. As tem slows down and changes direction. For stem cells they tend to stop and slow down and turn into other types of cells.
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Stem: defintion from Answers.com