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

junctional complex 1 (monkey)	junctional complex 2 (monkey)	junctional complex with desmosomes 3 (rat)	terminal web and inteme- diate junction jejunum (rat)	junctional complexes close to an acinus in pancreas (monkey)	junctional complex in vas- cular endothelium (monkey)

duodenum: interdigita- tions (monkey)	interdigitations pancreas (rat)	junctional complex with interdi- gitations pancreas duct (rat)	macula + fascia  adhaerens	fascia adhaerens	zonulae adhaerentes + terminal web (monkey)

different cell-cell contacts in inter- calated disk (heart, monkey)	detail: intercalated disk heart (monkey)	tight-junction of the blood liquor barrier (rat)	Tight junction = zonula occludens (monkey)	gap-junction = Nexus (rat)	gap-junction from inter- calated disk (rat)

zonula occuldens + adhaerens human pharyngeal tonsil 1	idem + terminal web human pharyngeal tonsil 2	idem human pharyngeal tonsil 3	Zonula occuldens et adhaerens human pharyngeal tonsil 4	Zonula occuldens et adhaerens human pharyngeal tonsil 5

desmosomes (maculae adhaerentes, rat)	hemidesmosome, basallamina ureter (monkey)	hemidesmosoms +inter- mediate filaments (rat)	hemidesmosomes + intermediate filaments 2	basal lamina in renal filtration barrier (monkey)

stereo image of a nexus = gap-junction pilar cell, organ of Corti (guinea pig)	zonula occludens = tight-junction	tight junction basaliar membrane (guinea pig)	desmosomes + attached inter- mediate filaments skin (rat)	junctional complex between intercalated duct cells (rat)

A junctional complex or adhering junction (Terminologia histologica: Junctio adhaesionis), which manifests stable a connection between epithelial cells consists of (reagrded from the lumen): a tight-junction (Terminologia histologica: Zonula occludens) followed in short distance by an adhesive belt (Terminologia histologia: Zonula adhaerens) and one or more spot desmosomes (Terminologia histologia: Maculae adhaerentes). All substances that want to pass from the lumen above the epithelium to the connective tissue and its vessels below either have to be transported through the cell or much easier have to bypass them using the very small pores between the protein-protein connections of the tight-junctions.
Besides the structures of the junctional complex there are further cell-to-cell contacts. Information about them can be retrieved from the pages inked to their names: gap-junction = nexus; fascia adhaerens, interdigitations, hemidesmosomes (anchor to underlaying basement membrane and connective tissue) and cell contacts that serve for chemical signal transduction, i.e. synapses as well as neuromuscular junctions.
There are simple intercellular junctions (Terminologia histologica: Junctiones intercellulares simplices) where cells just lie side by side and denticulate intercellular junctions (Terminologia histologica: Junctiones intercellulares denticulatae) further those with deeper invaginations i.e., digitiform intercellular junctions also called interdigitations(Terminologia histologica: Junctiones intercellulares digitiformes). The complex intercellular junctions (Terminologia histologica: Junctiones intercellulares speciales) are even more complicated and present in the intercalated disks connecting heart muscle cells. They consist of interdigitations plus adhesive strips (Fasciae adhaerentes), spot desmosomes (Terminologia histologica: Maculae adhaerentes) and gap-junctions (Terminologia histologica: Maculae communicantes, Nexus).

--> interdigitations, gap junctions, belt desmosome, tight junctions, spot desmosomes, fascia adhaerens, epithelium
--> Electron microscopic atlas Overview
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