anaplasia

…criterion of tumour formation; (3) anaplasia, or a regression of the physical characteristics of a cell toward a more primitive or undifferentiated type; this is an almost constant feature of malignant tumours, though it occurs in other instances both in health and in disease.

…a characteristic that is called anaplasia. When a malignant tumor no longer resembles the tissue of origin, it is said to be undifferentiated, or anaplastic.

metaplasia, and anaplasia. Dysplasia indicates an abnormal arrangement of cells, usually arising from a disturbance in their normal growth behavior. Some dysplasias are precursor lesions to cancer, whereas others are harmless and regress spontaneously. For example, dysplasia of the uterine cervix, called cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), may…