How does the body use differentiated cells?

It can be detected by cervical smear cytology tests (Pap smears). Metaplasia is the conversion of one cell type into another. In fact, it is not usually the differentiated cells themselves that change but rather the stem cell population from which they are derived.

Differentiation continues in adulthood as adult stem cells divide and create fully differentiated daughter cells during tissue repair and during normal cell turnover. Some differentiation occurs in response to antigen exposure.