HeLa cell. Coloured Scanning Electron Micrograph (SEM) of a HeLa cell growing in culture. The cell appears triangular in shape (green, upper centre), with microvilli projections on its surface. HeLa cells are the first human cell line, established in 1952 to research cancer. They were obtained from the cervix of Henrietta Lacks (after whom the cells are named) from Baltimore, USA, in 1951, who died of cervical cancer eight months later. The cancer was an epidermoid carcinoma. HeLa cancer cells thrive unusually well in the laboratory and are used in research worldwide. Magnification: x1900 at 6x7cm size. x4800 at 5x7"~PORTRAIT"