List of abbreviations		 Vocabulary
of micros-
copic
anatomy
specialist terms
explained in
English +
German

Every attempt was made to provide correct information and labelling, however any liability for eventual errors or incompleteness is rejected!
dieser Seite

Editor:
Dr. med.
H. Jastrow
Conditions
of use
Overview immotile connective tissue cells:
Pages with explanations are linked to the text below the images if available! (Labelling is in German)
fibrocytes + 2 mast cells
(rat)		 mesenchyme cells
human placenta		 fibrocyte, smooth muscle
cells vesicular gland (rat)		 myofibrocyte
testis (rat)		 pigment cells of the iris
(monkey)		 mesenchyme cell in human
placentar stroma
fibrocytes + mast cell
ovary ligament (rat)		 fibrocyte, elastic +
kollagenous fibres (rat)		 fibroblasts in human
placentar stroma		 Detail thereof Detail 2: widened
nuclear membrane
fibrocyte in loose connective tissue
of human subcutis		 detail thereof 1
(human)		 detail 2
(human)		 detail 3
(human)
detail 4
(human)		 detail 5
(human)		 fibrocyte vaginal con-
nective tissue 1 (pig)		 fibrocyte vaginal con-
nective tissue 2 (pig)		 unilocular fat cell + mast
cell in connective tissue (rat)		 chondroblast 1
nasal septum (rat)		 osteocyte
(rat)
The immobile or resident cells of connective tissue are unable to migrate. They are called Fibrocytes and in case of high metabolic activity fibroblasts further there are analogous cells in special tissues, i.e. chondrocytes or chondroblasts in cartilages, osteocytes or osteoblasts in bone tissue. Further there are some special names for distinct cell types in some defined kinds of connective tissue e.g., tendinocytes in tendons, odontoblasts (dentin secreting cells) of teeth; adamantoblasts (enamel producing cells); cementocytes (cementum produceing cells in teeth), mesenchyme cells in embryonic and fetal connective tissue which is called mesenchyme, reticulum cells in connective tissue of lymphoreticular organs like spleen or lymph nodes. Some of these cells show specialities in their ultrastructure which is related to their function e.g., uni- or plurivacuolar fat cells in fat tissue with lipid droplets, myofibroblasts around contorted seminal ducts in testis or in the uterus which show contractile fliaments resembling smooth muscle cells. Furter rare pigment cells of the connective tissue which have melanin vesicles like melanocytes or melanoblasts but are not able to migrate.
All resident connective tissue cells synthetise proteins or substances for the surrounding ground substance or fibrous elements as e.g.,  collagen fibrils, elastic fibrils and reticular fibrils.The components of such extracellular matrix fibres e.g., those required for formation of collagen fibrils (that gather to form fibres) are too small to be visible in an electron microscope. Most of these components are secreted by use of transport proteins in the cell membrane. The cells terned as ...blasts have a very high metabolic activity. Usually they are large and rich in RER (required for protein synthesis) and other organelles in their cytoplasm whereas the ....cytes have low metabolic activity. They mostly appear spindle-like and have many very thin and long immobile processes.

--> connective tissue; free cells: mast cells, macrophages, plasma cells
--> Electron microscopic atlas Overview
--> Homepage of the workshop

One image was kindly provided by Prof. H. Wartenberg; other images, page & copyright H. Jastrow.