A primitive embryonic cell that will develop into heart tissue; the earliest stage of heart cell formation.
From cardio- (Greek kardia, 'heart') + -blast (from Greek blastos, 'sprout' or 'germ'). The -blast suffix denotes formative or embryonic cells, as in fibroblast or osteoblast.
Your heart starts as a single layer of cardioblasts in the embryo—these specialized cells are so programmed to become heart tissue that even if you physically damage them early in development, they'll try to reorganize into a heart-like structure.
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