hela cell

noun, often capitalized H & 1st L \ˈhe-lə-\

Definition of HELA CELL

: a cell of a continuously cultured strain isolated from a human uterine cervical carcinoma in 1951 and used in biomedical research especially to culture viruses

Origin of HELA CELL

Henrietta Lacks †1951 patient from whom the cells were taken

First Known Use: 1953

Medical Dictionary

hela cell

noun , often capitalized H & 1st L \ˈhē-lə-\

Medical Definition of HELA CELL

: a cell of a continuously cultured strain isolated from a human uterine cervical carcinoma in 1951 and used in biomedical research especially to culture viruses

Biographical Note for HELA CELL

Lacks \ˈlaks\ , Henrietta (flourished 1951), American hospital patient. Lacks was a patient with cancer of the cervix. In 1951 Dr. George O. Gey of Johns Hopkins University Medical School isolated cells from her cervical tumor. The hela (an acronym formed from the first two letters of her names, often given as the pseudonym Helen Lane or rarely as Helen Larson) cells still flourish in research laboratories all over the world.