Why is easy bruising so common in older adults? Most bruises form when small blood vessels (capillaries) near the skin's surface are broken by the impact of a blow or injury â often on the arms or legs. When this happens, blood leaks out of the vessels and initially appears as a black-and-blue mark. Eventually your body reabsorbs the blood, and the mark disappears.
HeLa cell. HeLa cell, a cancerous cell belonging to a strain continuously cultured since its isolation in 1951 from a patient suffering from cervical carcinoma. The designation HeLa is derived from the name of the patient, Henrietta Lacks.
HeLa cell: One of the cells grown from the cervical cancer of a young African-American woman, Henrietta Lacks. HeLa cells were the first human cells to be continuously grown in culture. The cells were first cultured in February 1951 by Drs. George and Margaret Gey at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. The cells appear immortal and are still used in medical research today.