osteoclast

Term: osteoclast

Literally meaning: “what breaks bones”

Origin: Anc Greek

'ïστο[õν/ostoun(=bone)

+κλάω,ώ/ klao, klo(=break, prune)

Coined/History 

Osteoclasts were discovered on bone surface by Swiss anatomist Albert von Kolliker (1817-1905),  in 1873. Kolliker named them “osteoklasts” because of the name of a surgical instrument used to fracture bones,  and suggested a role of cells in bone resorption. The origin of osteoclasts since then have been a controversial subject.

Definition

 Osteoclast is  a multinucleated cell which is associated with deformation of bone. Osteoclasts and osteoblast regulate together the amount of bone mass.