noun
initial cell; primordial cell
Technical term in biology for the earliest cell in a developmental process or cell lineage.
始原細胞は、発生のごく初期に現れる。
The initial cell appears at the very beginning of development.
Compound of 始原 (shigen, 'origin' or 'beginning') and 細胞 (saibō, 'cell'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the term is used in modern biological contexts.