organoids because the results encompass research on organoids as defined before 1980, which included small structures within the cells’ cytoplasm. From 1980, researchers began to use collagen and laminin-rich matrices to culture cells and organoids in 3D, and thus 3D included organoids as discussed above. The start of the dramatic increase in the number of published papers on organoids was in fact around 2011, with 150 papers published in 2016 up to the time this article was written. For comparison, we also show the search that referred to “3D cell culture” (Fig. 1, green triangles). In reality, as we have argued, the two terms are one and the same until such time that those scientists who are active in this field would subdivide and define the different types of 3D/organoids practiced in different laboratories. (Indeed, M.J. Bissell and H. Clever discussed this nomenclature problem in a meeting entitled “Organoids” organized by the European Molecular Biology Organization in October of 2016. The aim is to bring clarity in nomenclature and keep the focus on showing the overriding importance of context and architecture in how tissues and organs are formed and maintained.) Organoid cultures as models for the study of development and
