CELLS of both the reproductive and functional compartments of oral and cutaneous epithelia are at present indiscriminately called “keratinocytes”. The two types of cells, however, differ markedly in function and fate, and it is therefore logical, as well as useful, to distinguish them by different terms. It is therefore proposed to introduce the term “keratoblast” to denote a cell in the reproductive compartment of these tissues, and thus to distinguish dividing cells from those that produce keratin.