Definition of "osteoblast" []

• A cell from which bone develops; a bone-forming cell. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "An 18-year-old Korean boy, who had one side of his jawbone and most of his teeth removed due to a tumor, had stem cells taken from his bone marrow, which were then "multiplied and specialized to form an osteoblast which is a bone-forming cell.""
• "Medical studies have found that excessive dietary intake of vitamin A is associated with decreased bone mineral density and increase risk of fractures.2 In animals, retinoic acid has been shown to decrease osteoblast activity and reduce the ability of vitamin D to absorb calcium.3"
• "The medicines apparently hinder osteoblast activity, the body's bone-building mechanism."