Go to MSN Homeencarta®
Dictionary
Find
in
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Translations
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
Click to move up the list of words
Osset
Ossetic
ossia
Ossian
ossicle
ossification
ossify
Ossining
osso buco
ossuary
ost-
osteal
osteitis
Ostend
ostensible
ostensive
ostensorium
Click to move down the list of words
Also available:

World English Dictionary
Dictionnaire Français

osteoclast
os·te·o·clast [ óstee ə klàst ] (plural os·te·o·clasts)


noun 
Definition:
 
1. bone cell: a large cell with many nuclei, found in growing bone. It assimilates bony tissue and is active in the formation of canals and cavities.
2. surgical instrument: an instrument used to break bones during surgery to correct a natural malformation or a badly healed fracture
[Late 19th century. <osteo- + Greek klastas "broken" < klan "to break"]

os·te·o·clas·tic [ òstee ə klástik ] adjective
Encarta® World English Dictionary [North American Edition] © & (P)2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
Advertisement
© 2009 Microsoft