Definition of Cell Type
From Program on Ontologies of Neural Structures
Unique definition of cell type
Given the unambiguous definition of the cell as being in a given region of the nervous system, the next problem is to have an unambiguous definition of the cell type within that region, different from all other cells within that region and from all other cells in any other part of the nervous system. This is not as easy as it appears.
For example, a name such as "Purkinje cell" seems obvious to those working on the nervous system, but there is another "Purkinje cell" in the heart, so as an eponymous name by itself is potentially ambiguous. It is also not very helpful in giving clues to the criteria by which it is named.
A definition is dependent on the method for viewing the cell. The most common method is histological observation under the microscope of the staining pattern of its cell body and dendrites. The following is a template of properties that can be applied to defining any cell type unambiguously based on its histological appearance in a microscopic slide.
