One of the dentin-forming cells, derived from mesenchyme of neural crest origin, lining the pulp cavity of a tooth; odontoblasts are arranged in a peripheral layer in the dental pulp, each with an odontoblastic process extending through the thickness of the dentine; the cells generally are columnar in the coronal pulp but are more cuboidal in the radicular area and adjacent to tertiary dentin. [odonto- + G. blastos, sprout, germ]
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odon·to·blast ō-'dänt-ə-.blast n one of the elongated radially arranged outer cells of the dental pulp that secrete dentin
odon·to·blas·tic -.dänt-ə-'blas-tik adj
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n.
a cell that forms dentine. Odontoblasts line the pulp and have small processes that extend into the dentine.
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odon·to·blast (o-donґto-blast) [odonto- + -blast] one of the columnar connective tissue cells which deposit dentin and form the outer surface of the dental pulp adjacent to the dentin.Medical dictionary. 2011.