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 fusiform densitiy (Corpusculum densum):
Pages with explanations are linked to the text below the images if available! (Labelling is in German)
longitudinal section of a
smooth muscle cell (monkey)
smooth muscle cell,
actin filaments (monkey)
organelles + actin filaments
smooth muscle cell (monkey)
smooth muscle cell in
cross-section (monkey)
Corpuscula densa
longitudinal (human)
cross sectioned fusi-
form densities (human)
Fusiform densities or dense oval bodies (Terminologia histologica: Corpusculae densae) are electron-dense regions within the filaments of smooth muscle cells. The areas are about 500 nanometers (nm) in length and have a thickness of ~100 nm. They consist of densely packed actin filaments tighted together with alpha-actinin. They are stable structures of the cytoskeleton and resemble the Z-disks of striated muscle cells. They also resemble dense bodies with the difference that they are never attached to the cell membrane but lie in the interior of the cytoplasm.

--> smooth muscle cells, Area densa
--> Electron microscopic atlas Overview
--> Homepage of the workshop

Four images were kindly provided by Prof. H. Wartenberg; other images, page & copyright H. Jastrow.