A site of adhesion between two epithelial cells, consisting of a dense attachment plaque separated from a similar structure in the other cell by a thin layer of extracellular material. SYN: bridge corpuscle, macula adherens. [desmo- + G. soma, body]
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des·mo·some 'dez-mə-.sōm n a specialized local thickening of the plasma membrane of an epithelial cell that serves to anchor contiguous cells together
des·mo·som·al -.sō-məl adj
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n.
an area of contact between two adjacent cells, occurring particularly in epithelia. The cell membranes at a desmosome are thickened and fine fibres (tonofibrils) extend from the desmosome into the cytoplasm.
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des·mo·some (dezґmo-sōm) [desmo- + -some] a type of adhesive junction that links intermediate filaments and cell membranes within and between cells by homophilic interactions between cadherins (desmogleins and desmocollins); it is a small, discrete, circular, dense body abundant in epithelial cells but occurring also in other cell types. It consists of local differentiations of the apposing cell membranes, with a dense cytoplasmic plaque underlying each membrane, toward which numerous tonofilaments converge; a dense lamina may occur within the intercellular gap. Called also macula adherens. desmosomal adj
Desmosome.
Medical dictionary. 2011.