In the context of cellular differentiation, which term is used to describe cells that exhibit the ability to differentiate into many but limited cell types?

The term that describes cells capable of differentiating into many, but not all, cell types is multipotent. Multipotent cells are typically stem cells that can develop into a limited range of cells associated with a specific tissue or organ. For example, hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow can become various types of blood cells, but they cannot differentiate into cell types outside of that lineage, such as nerve or muscle cells.

On the other hand, pluripotent cells have the ability to differentiate into almost any cell type in the body but cannot form an entire organism. Totipotent cells have the potential to differentiate into any cell type, including the extraembryonic tissues, and can give rise to a complete organism. Oligopotent refers to cells that can differentiate into a few cell types but is more restricted compared to multipotent cells. Therefore, the appropriate term for cells that can differentiate into many but limited cell types is multipotent.