Let's see what those endothelial cells look like shall we?
March 9th 2010 03:53
Signature Tune
Right, let's first have a look at some shall we?
Not very impressive are they?
But here's another view which may give you a better idea, that last picture was a microscopic section which had been stained for clarity and it you looked down a microscope at the outide of these endothelial cell that's what they would look like, lying end to end and side by side, just one endothelial cell thick to line the blood vessels.
Viewed side on, the real thing, enlarged
Moving right along you will soon see just how complex these, as are every other cell, are.
getting more complex, aren't they?
even more complex
And here's the nasty one
So just what are these endothelial cells again?
Definitions of Endothelial cells on the Web:
The endothelium is the thin layer of cells that line the interior surface of blood vessels, forming an interface between circulating blood in the ...
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Cells composing the epithelial layer, which lines the cavities of the heart and of the blood and lymph vessels and the serous cavities of the body ...
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Cells which line the entire circulatory system, from the heart to the smallest capillary, and reduce turbulence in the blood flow.
Really Long Link
These cells arise from angioblasts to form the initial vascular network. They provide the endothelial lining for the entire cardiovascular system.
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the cells that line the inner surface of the cornea in a single layer (endothelium). They are responsible for pumping fluid out of the cornea to keep it clear. These cells gradually decrease in number over a lifetime. ...
www.eye.com.ph/glossary.htm
Endothelial cells are selective filters which regulate the passage of gases, fluid and various molecules across their cell membranes. Different organs have different types of endothelium: some leaky and some very tightly bound.
And to show you some in a blood vessel here is a picture, I think that is about all you need to know to make you aware of how important these cells are, what they look like, if enlarged and what role they play in your overall health.
in blood vessels, enlarged
The size of endothelial cells is so small you could fit 1Million of them onto a full stop, let's hope I got that calculation right, but let's just say they are microsopically small, and a very great number would fit on a full stop.
My calculation was rather rough.
They are about 1-2 µm thick and some 10-20 µm in diameter
Any questions? See my previous post too.
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